“SPEAK UP AND OWN YOUR VOICE IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY”

While there is a clear differentiation between mental health and mental illness, from a definitional standpoint, unfortunately, the perception of the two terms within the African Canadian Caribbean community is not as clear, and often they are seen as the same. Mental health and mental illness are seen as almost an all or nothing phenomenon. Either you are perfectly “normal” or you are at the opposite end of the spectrum, which means you are suffering from psychotic symptoms or you are are “crazy” and as a result, you are ostracized.