Services

Advocacy

DCAG advocates for Black children, youth, parents to achieve better outcomes. Our team assists the community to better understand and navigate key sectors:

• Education
• Children’s Aid Society
• Mental Health

Education Support

Supports to Black students and their parent(s) in high-risk communities in the Durham Region is needed as Black students continue to experience negative outcomes in the education system. The high suspension, expulsion and drop-out rates among Black students usually leads to high rates of unemployment and poverty. These negative outcomes often lead to what is commonly referred to as the school to prison pipeline and justifies. DCAG advocacy and supports are focused on the educational attainment for Black youth struggling in the education system in the Region.

Enhanced Youth Mentorship Program

This Program provides support to Black youth by connecting them to positive mentors, intense supports, and enhanced after school activities. These supports are critical to addressing maladaptive behaviors among at risk youth. In our experience, youth thrive in situations where they are connected to positive role models within the community. This Program serves to support parents that are struggling with parenting their adolescent child. Some elements of the Enhanced Mentorship Program include:

• Positive role model mentorship.
• Tutoring and homework assistance.
• Talk It Out Sessions which is a weekly group safe space for youth to address issues and concerns in their life and family with a skilled counsellor or facilitator.
• Developing positive study habits workshop
• A series on Anger Management.
• A workshop series on Know Your Peers to help youth identify negative peers and maintain positive peer relationships.
• Summer job search assistance.
• A workshop series called Plan Ahead to assist youth to develop a plan for a successful future.

Family Support Program

This Program Connects Black parents to the appropriate services in Durham and the GTA that can assist their children and family to thrive. Elements of the Program include:
Family and individual counselling and supports utilizing Afrocentric principles and values and a Cognitive Behavioral Approach to identify risk factors, develop resilience, effective coping and problem-solving skills and conflict resolutions skills in an effort to strengthen the family.

• A series of Parent Support groups that focus on the following topics: Understanding the Elementary and Secondary School Curriculum; What you need to know about Suspensions and Expulsions; Parenting for Success, What is Your Parenting Style, Mental Health Myths etc.
• Education Advocates that will assist Parent(s) to effectively navigate the school system and advocate for their children.
• Create a Network of Parents that will meet monthly in a safe space to discuss parenting issues and provide advice and support.
  Life Skills Workshops.

Parenting Support

Advocacy & Engagement: DCAG will assist Black parents in understanding the impact key public institutions can have on their families. Volunteers support parents through advocacy and engagement.
Accessing Services: The organization will link Black parents and families to culturally appropriate services and mental health supports across the GTA.
Parent Support Group: The primary goal of this Program is to increase the capacity of African Canadian parents to support their children and high-risk youth through a process of discovery and discussion. Parents are made aware of the impact of historical and traditional parenting styles and their ability to effectively parent in the current youth culture. Parents are encouraged to explore and identify the impact of these realities, and other social norms and factors on urban youth culture and their children. The development of effective parenting skills is a critical component of this Program. The Parenting Program is comprised of 8 modules centered on helping parents to understand the adolescent mind and how it works and the importance of being an active participant in their child’s development.

Youth Justice

The Knowledge of Self (KOS) Group Program provides culturally appropriate and relevant programming options to youth involved in the youth justice system. KOS provides community-based Extra-Judicial Sanctions and supports directly in youth facilities. These programming modules are designed to counteract the risk factors that lead to anti-social behavior among African Canadian youth and provide linkages within the community that will build support systems to increase the young person’s protective factors.
The KOS Programs, as with all of DCAG’s programming, utilizes African-Centered principles and values, Cognitive Behavioral Theory and Restorative Justice Practices to engage youth clients. The following is a brief description of the Programs that are currently offered as part of the KOS Programming:

• Life Skills
• Rites of Passage
• A Girl Like Me
• Anti-Gang
• Anger-Management

Mental Health Awareness

Community Development
Black families experiencing mental health differences will be able to understand and address the stigma associated with mental health. DCAG will help Black families to access mental health and addiction supports and services.

Community Development

DCAG provides a wide range of community development initiatives to educate and empower the Black community in Durham Region. The organization hosts a series of educational workshops and community meetings:
With the Chief of the Durham Regional Police Services Participates in a monthly dialogue with the Durham Children’s Aid Society
Coordinates the annual Building Bridges initiative to provide a Forum to link the Black community to address their concerns with the disparities and outcomes for Black families in child welfare.

• Understanding & Navigating the Education System
• Understanding & Navigating the Child Welfare System
• Know Your Rights & Responsibilities
• Accessing Mental Health Services & Supports