Holding Hands - An Urgent Conversation
About this Event
Join Us for Holding Hands - An Urgent Conversation
If we haven't been there yet, we will be eventually. Please be with us to discuss the delicate, often difficult subject of caring for our elders in a system that was not set-up to meet their needs. We'll be talking about natural aging, physical and cognitive decline, losing independence, living and legal arrangements, local and provincial resources. There will also be time for sharing experiences, good, bad, and other.
Who will be joining us?
For more than 20 years, Shirlette Wint has practiced in Montreal as a psychotherapist, clinical social worker, researcher, and cultural consultant. To her work she brings her interest in art, culture and spirituality. Over the years she has collaborated on multiple community/media / and university action research projects. She is presently involved in a community/hospital research project looking at access to anti-racist services for black youths and their families during First Episode Psychosis experiences (Jewish General Hospital).
Shirlette recognizes that globally, blacks’ mental health is largely impacted by access to cultural, spiritual, financial, and intellectual capital. Her interest in facilitating wealth in black Canadian communities led to her participation in director Henri Prado’s 2019 documentary ‘Afro-Prosperity’-- part of the Black Wealth Matters’ project. She is also featured in the 2022 documentary series on the history of Afro-Canadiens (https://ici.tou.tv/afro-canada). In 2024 she appeared as mental health consultant in Ayana O’Shun’s documentary ‘’La fête des Pères’’ / ‘’Absent Fathers’’ (https://ici.tou.tv). A long- time member of the BTW community, she has animated workshops with BTW’s mentorship program providing group and individual support.
Shirlette is a contributing author in the book Cultural Consultation: Encountering the Other in Mental Health Care, a Springer publication. During the pandemic, she was a frequent guest on CBC Radio discussing the mental health challenges that individuals and groups faced throughout the course of that national and global crisis. She perceives herself as a conduit for aiding the individual and the group to move from a position of helplessness to resourcefulness as they look critically at the past, the present and face the future with self-determination.
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Annick Maugile Flavien is a doctoral candidate in Concordia’s Individualized Program, researching the crucial role of family-community caregiving for marginalized elders in Canada and serves on the advisory board of the Social Determinants of Health in Ageing and Alzheimer’s research team led by Dr. Maiya Geddes at McGill University. Her research-creation project explores the “Black home” as an important site for transmission of intergenerational knowledge, belonging, and care to understand the theories that shape Black caregiving practices and bring them into conversations around ageing considerations for all elders in Canada. Her work is greatly informed by her experience as a caregiver to her mother and her professional experience in equity and advocacy work, where she most notably founded Concordia’s Black Perspectives Office, co-chaired the President’s Task Force on Anti-Black Racism and co-authored “These Halls of Ours: Black Student Presence and Black Montreal Youth History” in Concordia University at 50: A Collective History.
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Zeeta Maharaj believes that grief deserves space, voice, and compassion.
My journey into grief work began during my master’s studies, when a course on death and dying opened my eyes to the depth of loss and the resilience of the human spirit. Years later, after the deaths of my parents, this calling became deeply personal. Out of both study and lived experience, Lotus Grief Centre was born—a space where healing is nurtured through story, connection, and compassionate support.
As a Grief Specialist, Facilitator, Speaker, and Advocate, I create spaces where individuals, families, and communities can navigate loss with honesty and courage. Whether through one-on-one support, group facilitation, or public speaking, my work centers on helping people acknowledge grief, find meaning, and move toward healing at their own pace.
My approach combines evidence-informed practices with the power of storytelling and ritual. I believe in meeting grief in all its complexity—emotional, physical, spiritual, and social—while honoring the unique journey of each person.
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This is not light stuff. We will have snacks, and hands to hold to get us through. We all know the expression, "It takes a village to raise a child." It takes a village to support those who support the elders too. Let's create one.
See you soon,
Deanna
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
CAD 0.00
