S03E05 - Dr. O explores how we protect our communities with Nia Centre for the Arts & Roots Community Services

This is the second of a two-part series. See S03E04 for Part 1, entitled “Protecting Ourselves”
In this episode, we will continue what we started in Episode 4, where I interviewed EDI leader Nouman Ashraf, and we focused on protective factors that can shield us from some of the harms of systemic racism. In that episode we reflected on Nouman’s own journey and how factors like self-love, cultural pride, cultural fluency were protective for him, and I talked about the importance of taking a mindful moment when you are triggered.
This episode is about the power of the community organizations that create “protective spaces” for us. I think we don’t always realize the power and protection we get in groups - there is a reason for the saying ‘united we stand’ – it’s just harder to knock us down when we are a collective.
As two case examples of this, I spoke to the leaders of the NIA Center for the Arts in Toronto and Roots Community Services in the Greater Toronto Area. Both of these centers provide 4 protective factors that I want to highlight: 1) they provide a sense of belonging, 2) foster a sense of joy, 3) empower their members and 4) cultivate collective self-determination. All are antidotes to the poison of systemic racism and other structural forms of discrimination.
I’m going to guide you through the journeys of their organizations, the challenges, the programs they offer and the success stories from these protective spaces.
- Dr. O
View our ShowNotes for more information - https://bit.ly/3y3TNsN
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[The “Race, Health & Happiness” podcast is produced with the support of United Way Greater Toronto, and the help of Toronto Metropolitan University, the school formerly known as Ryerson]