The CHAT, facilitated by Kristy Anthony

Kristy Anthony is the Project Coordinator for the Perinatal Mental Health of Black Canadians (PMHBC) program at Families Matter. Kristy is a Peer Support Worker and also manages a cohort of Black Peer Support Workers for this program.

Kristy, and all of the Support Workers, have some form of Lived Experience with Perinatal Mood Disorder (PMD), whether it be postpartum anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder or feeling overwhelmed during a challenging time in their lives. Kristy and her team can speak to the stigma and barriers of struggling with PMD in the African/Caribbean/Black community. They can also inspire other parents with their stories of success and hope, in having journeyed to the other side.

Kristy is originally from the island of Grenada in the Caribbean and grew up mostly in Canada. She understands the bicultural life of an immigrant and celebrates both cultures while exploring the difficulties of conflicting values, racism and unconscious biases. Kristy is an artist by nature and her first passion is dance. She hopes to fuse these worlds of mental health and dance one day and, in the meantime, bring hope to other parents in the Black community battling mental health issues.

Kristy is motivated to affect change through Peer Support, community connection and spreading awareness via educational sessions.

The CHAT is a perfect example of Kristy and the PMHBC team working to foster that community connection piece of the puzzle.