Ontario to create $25M Black health hub in Peel Region

Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones listens to questions from reporters following a press conference at a Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy in Etobicoke, Ont., on Wednesday, January 11, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin

Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones says the province is spending $25 million to create a Black health and social services hub in Peel Region.

Jones says the hub could open as early as next summer and will connect people to a team of primary care, mental health, and social service professionals.

She says health-care services at the hub will include maternal and infant health, chronic disease prevention and management, seniors' health and wellness and mental health supports, with a focus on diseases that disproportionately affect Black communities such as sickle cell disease.

About 20 per cent of the members of Ontario's Black communities live in Peel Region.

Jones says the hub was designed in part by residents, as well as Ontario Health, the Black Health Alliance, Roots Community Services, Partners Community Health and the LAMP Community Health Centre.

Charmaine Williams, the associate minister of women's social and economic opportunity, says that race-based data shows Black communities are disproportionately impacted by cancer, diabetes and other health issues, and the hub will help them navigate the system to access preventative care.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2023.