The Congolese Community of Hamilton and Area launched the ConfinART initiative, whose main goal is to bring its members together remotely through an art platform during difficult times of isolation, such as COVID-19. It gives art lovers an opportunity to build skills through tutorials aimed mainly at people with reduced mobility (adults and youth). These virtual art activities are highly effective because they offer participants holistic healing and protection against mental illness or depression. The other goal is to create an environment that encourages networking, comfort and solidarity among members, to reduce isolation and to promote members’ initiatives.
The mental health of members of Hamilton’s Black francophone minority communities was severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Isolation, grief, loss of income and fear of the unknown were among the social realities faced by Hamiltonians from Black francophone communities during the full lockdown of last year (2020) and this year (2021), whether partial or full. The effects of lockdown worsened existing mental health problems. Many members of our communities struggled with excessive alcohol and drug use, insomnia and anxiety. According to studies, COVID-19 can cause neurological and mental complications such as delirium, agitation and stroke. People with pre-existing mental, neurological or substance use disorders are also more likely to contract SARS-CoV-2 and may be at higher risk of serious outcomes and death. (Cullen, Gulati & Kelly, 2020).
You can visit this Facebook page (ConfinART) – https://www.facebook.com/Confinart-102562194798238 – to see the paintings created so far by our compatriots in Hamilton during the lockdown.
