Latest news with #BlackYouth
CBS News
30-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Sacramento's RAGE Project helps advance well-being of Black youth in community
SACRAMENTO – It's Mental Health Awareness Month, and CBS Sacramento is taking a look at how one Sacramento nonprofit is helping Black youth thrive in the community. It's called the Race and Gender Equity (RAGE) Project, which offers the necessary tools for finding peace and purpose. Inside the Florin Square Shopping Center in south Sacramento, there's a place where Black teens and young adults can be themselves. "RAGE provides coaching and consulting to individuals and organizations looking to create change," said Dr. Stacey Chimimba Ault, the founder and CEO. Aults said she started RAGE out of her own struggles with systemic inequities and injustices. "While she may have been born out of my anger, really has become a place of healing for me and for all of the young people that lead the work," Ault said. The group's mission is to advance the well-being of Black youth. "We start meeting young people where they're at through support, including mentoring and case management. Then we build their skill set through education, entrepreneurship and workforce development," Ault said. They also get support in their advocacy work through social justice. Heaven'le James, 19, has been part of rage since the sixth grade. "I think it helped me to prepare myself for the real world, being able to stand up for myself and others as well," James said. She learned to navigate her mental health and connect with others. "They truly care about what you have to say," James said. James works with other program associates, like Aziza Williams. "When they say it's youth-led, it really is. They listen to the things that we have to say and bring us in to different things to make big decisions," Williams said. On this day, they're team building in their safe space. "Everyone in there acts like children, acts like youth, because we're so comfortable with each other," James said. "We just talk about things that are going on in the community, ways that we can come together, and advocate and kind of make a difference," Williams said. Working together also means knowing when to rest. "We have free therapy, we have yoga sessions in here sometimes, free workspace," Williams said. Ault knows the impact RAGE is making in the community and hopes one day to hand over the reins to the next generation of leaders and healers. "I would love RAGE to be completely youth-led and to be an infrastructure support for young people that want to create change," Ault said. For more information about the programs offered at RAGE, visit
CTV News
16-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
uOttawa study finds link between discrimination and depression in Black students
A new study by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) found that there is a link between racism and depression inside schools and educational systems for Black students. The study is titled Racism in Education among Black Youth in Canada and its Association with Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It finds that over 40 percent of Black students in Canada have experienced discrimination, a 'climate of racism festers within schools and universities,' and 'there is an absence of adequate intervention by teachers and school workers to stop racial discrimination,' uOttawa says in a release on its website. Professor Jude Mary Cénat, a national leader in research on the mental health of Canada's Black communities and leader of uOttawa's study, says the research found that discrimination not only affected the well-being of those students, but also impacted their growth, limiting their potential to succeed. Cénat suggests systematic reforms of educational institutions. 'Even though resources are available, most students see these as being impacted by racial discrimination. We can't just ask Black youths to be strong, we must change the systems they rely on,' said Cénat. 'These systematic reforms should include culturally appropriate policies, anti-racist interventions, and further training for educators. This study represents an invitation to take collective action to ensure that schools become truly inclusive and safe.' The five-year study was done through interviews with Black students in seven provinces, including Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, British Columbia and Manitoba. Its findings were published in Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology.
