When the COVID-19 pandemic first emerged, most of us had no idea how exactly it would impact our lives. In early 2020, I was working at the storefront of a social enterprise that relied largely on room rentals and retail sales to keep its doors open. As news of the unknown illness spread across Canada, I remember my anxiety creeping up each time I touched handrails on the bus or brushed shoulders with strangers on the subway. By early March, my use of hand sanitizer left my hands feeling straw-like, and rumours of impending lockdown measures, curfews, and personal protective equipment (PPE) mandates began to spread across the province.
When lockdowns started in mid-March, I admittedly felt a sense of relief. Like the majority of racialized people who are living in the GTA, I spent upwards of three hours commuting to and from work in downtown Toronto each day. I was exhausted.
As a university graduate, many of the jobs I have commuted to and from were marked by some combination of a living-wage, benefits, and paid time off. However, this has not always been the case for me, nor is it the case for most other racialized women in this country. In fact, while Canada’s racialized population has steadily increased in size, racialized women continue to occupy mostly minimum-wage, temporary and low-quality jobs when compared to non-racialized women and men, and racialized men.
Much research has shown a direct link between financial instability and poorer health and mental health outcomes. This is a side of employment we seldom discuss – how jobs can contribute to our lives in ways apart from providing financial support. For many Canadians, steady and sustainable employment supports a sense of purpose, identity, routine, and social activity – all of which also happen to be supporting factors for positive mental health.
As the pandemic crept its way in, many unemployed Canadians were left to grapple with immense shifts in routine, identity and social isolation. For racialized women in particular, additional competing demands of caregiving, increased illness, virtual learning and the reduced hiring for minimum-wage, temporary and care jobs they often occupied, left many spread thin. The outcomes on mental health and wellbeing are devastating. In Ontario alone, the demand for public mental health services has been at an all-time high. A shortage of programs, services and a high turnover of burnt-out staff has left many in need of support largely on their own.
If there is one thing that this pandemic has taught me as both a racialized person and a mental health practitioner, it is that the antithesis of poor mental health outcomes is not individualized self-improvement, it is community connection. The pandemic has disjointed and disconnected us in ways never imagined, and the impact it has had on our mental health cannot be ignored. Many of us grieve what we once knew as connectedness and community – whether it was family, chosen family, connecting with colleagues, socializing at work, or simply being amongst familiar strangers in a public space.
While I do not claim to have all the answers there is one thing I am sure of: Improving health outcomes for equity-seeking communities means improving health outcomes for all. What we need is deep investment from our government leaders and policymakers both in individual mental health services and in community programs. Along with increased funding towards accessible, free therapeutic programs and services, we also need funded community opportunities to gather, connect and relate to one another.
As we work towards re-integration, I encourage each of us to find connection in whatever meaningful ways are possible. Perhaps it is with a neighbour or friend, a pet, hosting a gathering (safely of course), or going to a free event – whatever it may look like. While it will not resolve all of our competing needs and demands during this pandemic, each and every person deserves the opportunity to feel connected.
Below are some ideas on ways to connect around the city:
https://www.meetup.com/cities/ca/on/toronto/
https://www.eventbrite.ca/d/canada--toronto/free--community--events/
https://www.toronto.com/toronto-events/community/
https://www.utoronto.ca/events
--
Tara Farahani (she/her) is a Toronto-based artist and early mental health professional. For the past decade, she has worked as a researcher, facilitator, and frontline staff in the social sector, exploring subjects of intersectionality, trauma, gender-based violence, cyber-sexual violence, mental health, disabilities and queerness.
Image from Canva Photos