For Black residents in Peel Region, finding healthcare and social services that understand their community and cultural needs can sometimes mean navigating a system that wasn’t designed with them in mind.

A new Brampton hub is aiming to change that.

The Black Health and Social Services (BHSS) Hub Peel celebrates its grand opening Friday, Aug. 28, bringing primary care, mental health, addictions and social services together under one roof at 19 Rutherford Road South, Unit 2.

The Hub is designed specifically with Black, African and Caribbean communities at the centre, offering a range of services in a culturally responsive environment.

Rather than requiring residents to navigate separate systems for different needs, the BHSS Hub takes a more integrated approach to care.

Residents can access primary care, diabetes education, physiotherapy, healthcare navigation and support, mental health and addictions services, peer support, trauma counselling, family support and connections to community resources.

The idea is to recognize that a person’s health is affected by much more than what happens during a doctor’s appointment.

That approach is particularly important in Peel Region, which is home to more than 137,000 Black residents. Organizers say Black communities continue to experience disparities in health outcomes and face barriers to accessing culturally appropriate care.

The BHSS Hub is a partnership between Roots Community Services, LAMP Community Health Centre and the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Peel Dufferin.

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The project was supported by a $25-million investment announced by the Ontario Ministry of Health in 2023 and was informed by the Black Health Plan for Ontario.

But the organizations behind the Hub have already been working in the community while the permanent location was being developed.

Over the past two years, the initiative has engaged nearly 20,000 community members and provided coordinated services to more than 4,000 people through community-based and satellite locations across Peel.

The new Brampton location will serve as the central hub in a larger network of satellite locations, using what organizers describe as a “hub and spoke” model to expand access to integrated care.

And residents will have a chance to see what is available when the Hub officially celebrates its opening Friday.

The grand opening will run from 4 to 7:30 p.m. and will include complimentary health screenings, wellness activities, nutrition and health education, meet-and-greets with healthcare practitioners and information about registering for services.

There will also be discussions about mental wellness through a cultural lens, including an interactive session titled “Mental Wellness: Understanding Wellness Across Cultures.”

Food trucks, ice cream, refreshments, live cultural entertainment and family activities will also be part of the celebration.

Residents will be able to tour the facility, meet members of the BHSS Hub team and, importantly, register for available services and potentially connect with a healthcare provider on the spot.

For organizers, the opening represents more than a new facility. It is an attempt to make healthcare and social supports more accessible, connected and culturally relevant for a community that has historically faced barriers within the healthcare system.

“Today is more than a ribbon-cutting, it’s a celebration of what’s possible when a community’s needs shape the solution, not the other way around,” said Hope Ramsay, Director of Integrated Operations. “For too long, Black residents in Peel have had to navigate a system that wasn’t built with them in mind. This Hub changes that.”

 


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