By: Ayesha Khan
Recently in the city of Toronto, community activists have spoken out and generated attention to race-based discrepancies in how COVID-19 has affected different communities. Of note, local neighbourhood Glenfield-Jane Heights has been one of the hardest hit. When Reverend Paul of Sea Mission Inc heard this, he and the Korean community sprung into action.
Having worked in the Jane Finch community for years, the organizers at Sea Mission Inc who are dedicated to changing the lives of forgotten members of society felt it was unacceptable the way that this part of the city was being ignored. They pledged to donate 100,000 masks to the Jane and Finch community, 50,000 of them to the Black Creek Community Health Centre.
On Thursday July 30, MPP Tom Rakocevic helped facilitate and give away some of these masks, citing them as a huge benefit to this often overburdened and underserved community. “In this community, people can’t work from home. Some people can’t afford masks, and even when they can, they are sold out everywhere.” Rakocevic is an active voice speaking out about systemic barriers in the Jane and Finch community which led to such high rates of COVID-19 community spread.
Community partners pose at the mask giveaway on July 30th. (Photo Credit: Maria Garcia)
After MPP Rakocevic spoke, Cheryl Prescod, Executive Director of the Black Creek Community Health Centre thanked the organization for their donation. “It’s a gift for humanity, and we really can’t say enough to thank you.” Black Creek Community Health Centre as well as MPP Rakocevic and local City Councillor Anthony Perruzza have pushed for more testing options locally, eventually having pop-up clinics opened nearby where residents could get tested for COVID-19.
Councillor Perruzza thanked everyone for their hard work as well, stressing how important masks are in the fight against the pandemic. He spoke of the need for preventative care, not only reactive, in protecting the health and wellbeing of constituents and thanked the BCCHC for their consistent work in providing for clientele who are made to be marginalized through our institutions and laws. A heartwarming end to his speech, he spoke of silver linings. “This pandemic brought out an innate quality in humans. People started to call people they were worried were isolated and alone. This pandemic has really brought up the buried good inside us.”
To learn more about the work Sea Mission Inc. does, please visit http://www.seaprisonmission.org/about-us.html