The GSA and the BSWSA Presents: Knowing When to Reach Out! A Talk with Asante Haughton

For FIFSW students only
*Zoom registration information was sent to all FIFSW students by email

Asante Haughton is a mental health advocate devoted to changing the world. He is focused on amplifying the stories of everyday people to illuminate gaps in the system while working to build bridges between community members and policy makers in order to find solutions to challenges together. Asante is the co-founder of the Reach Out Response Network, an organization advocating for non-police led mobile crisis emergency response. Asante is also a 2x TEDx speaker and a CAMH Difference Maker, awarded with the distinction of being one of the top 150 mental health influencers in Canada. Asante has also recently contributed his poetry and writing to a book called, AfriCANthology, a collection of poems, stories and essays by Black artists and thinkers. When Asante is not speaking and advocating he is designing, managing and facilitating peer support training programs at Stella’s Place, a youth mental health service agency in Toronto and hosting the web show, Cypher, which turns peer support stories into original songs by Juno nominated musicians. Young at heart, silly, self-deprecating and able to find a sports analogy for virtually anything, Asante tries not to take himself too seriously despite being engaged in the serious work of changemaking!

This talk features a 40 minute presentation on Introducing the Reach Out Network and what prompted the initiative ,Asante’s steps in their advocacy approach and community engagement, and advocating for systemic mental health changes – followed by a 20 minute Q&A.