[Test Email] The Current: March 2026

March 2026

Unsinkable’s Monthly Newsletter

Where Stories Flow

We’re introducing something new to The Current: an opening animation that reflects the spirit of this space and the movement of the stories within it.

Unsinkable’s Illustrator and Visual Storytelling Support, Wing Lam Chan, shares the inspiration behind it:

I wonder how ocean currents are depicted in our world.

Seeking inspiration, I came across the ocean current map, captivated as if I were standing in front of Van Gogh's The Starry Night. Wisps of tactile current – like those short, spiral-like brushstrokes highlighting the glow of stars – curl the movement and the temperature across the ocean.

That being said, such magnificence cannot be captured with our naked eyes. We need the star to sense the current.

Imagine paper boats. We fold our unique stories into paper boats and send them adrift. Carried by the current, various paper boats eventually reached here – a humane pier that always lit up, allowing you to find the stories you resonate with. The warmth of this pier is fueled by reciprocity – in which stories amplify the pier, and in turn, the pier amplifies them.

This is The Current.

March 2–9 marks Black Mental Health Week in Canada, a time to honour lived experiences, challenge stigma, and uplift the voices, strength, and resilience within Black communities.

Black mental health is shaped not only by individual struggle, but by systems, stigma, grief, creativity, and community. That's why this week is an opportunity for us to listen more deeply, speak more openly, and recognize that healing is both personal and collective. It’s a time to center the humanity and experiences of Black communities, and a reminder that culturally responsive care, community connection, and honest storytelling matter. When we create space to name our experiences, we also create space for change.

We’re highlighting powerful conversations and stories that centre truth, joy, and resistance:

🎥 You Can’t Heal What You Don’t Reveal: Official Documentary
Featuring four BIPOC youth from Toronto’s Jane and Finch community, this documentary shares raw, unfiltered stories of navigating injustice, pain, and ultimately, healing through community. The young voices in You Can’t Heal What You Don’t Reveal remind us that healing starts with truth — and with spaces safe enough to hold it.

Here are some key takeaways from the documentary:

“You can’t heal what you don’t reveal.”

Healing requires vulnerability. As one participant shared, the title speaks to “the importance of facilitating conversations and creating safe spaces for people like us to be vulnerable.”

Stigma silences potential.

“With the expectations set so low for us… when you try to overachieve, people almost look at you like you’re crazy.”

Low societal expectations can become internal barriers. Challenging stigma is mental health work.

Creativity is medicine.

“Art is my talent… I really express it through the pain that I went through and the people I lost.”

Creativity becomes a pathway to process grief, reclaim narrative, and imagine freedom.

The impact of justice-system involvement is lasting.

Participants spoke about anxiety, fear, missed opportunities, travel restrictions, and limited employment options after contact with the system.
Black mental health cannot be separated from conversations about justice, equity, and systemic impact.

Accompanying the documentary are Reflection Guides designed by Unsinkable for Black Mental Health Week and beyond.

These guides support personal journaling, classroom dialogue, community circles, and facilitated conversations.

Personal Reflection Guide

The reflection guide allows individuals to engage privately and safely.

Facilitated Discussion Guide

The discussion guide helps facilitators create a space rooted in dignity and choice. The focus is on shared reflection and insight, allowing people to connect through what resonates, rather than feeling asked to disclose personal details.

Spotlighting more inspiring conversations and stories that amplify Black mental health awareness:

🎥 Joy As Resistance – Black Mental Health Webinar
An inspiring dialogue exploring joy not as denial of hardship, but as a radical and restorative act of care. Watch here

📖 From the Block to Bliss: Shemar’s Wavelengths Story

Tue, Jul 8

From the Block to Bliss

Unsinkable Storyteller: Shemar Barnett

When we think about mental health challenges and where they come from, we often point to difficult childhoods, chaotic homes, and bullies. What we don't always think about are systems that oppress and create environments that stifle hope. Shemar is a product of such an environment. His story reminds us that where we were born can shape our lives. And though he made it out of a challenging environment, what about those who didn't — what about their stories? We thank Shemar for his candidness and vulnerability. We appreciate him for his resilience and recognize the power in his journey. And we thank him for the reminder that where there is community, there is BLISS (Black Life Is So Sweet).

We invite our community to engage with these stories when it feels right for you. If you’re struggling, you don’t have to navigate it alone. Support is available. Resources can be found here

Unsinkable Youth

“Let’s Be Real” is happening now!

A 12-week virtual wellness journey for ages 16-26

Let’s Be Real is a virtual space to be you, together. Let’s unpack the stuff we don’t always talk about—unspoken thoughts, confusing moments, and everyday pressures. Meeting weekly via Zoom in a relaxed, supportive space for real conversations, growth, connection, and showing up, just as you are. ♡

Thursdays @ 8:00-9:30 pm ET on Zoom

January 22-April 9, 2026

Registration is always open

Community Champions

Unsinkable’s Ambassadors

Meet all of our 2026 Champions

Champion Spotlight: Samarah

World, meet Samarah.

Hi! I'm Samarah — a medical student by day, crafting hobbyist by night, and mental health advocate 24/7. I’m based in the Greater Toronto Area and am passionate about the intersections of wellbeing, equity, education, and identity. Outside of my studies, I enjoy jewelry-making, cycling, and exploring new places.

Much of my mental health journey is shaped by the many facets of my identity. I am the daughter of immigrants, an older sister, a mentor, a friend, and a lifelong seeker of knowledge. These roles overlap to form who I am today and the lens through which I view the world.

For me, caring for myself and others does not always come through words. Sometimes it looks like small, intentional actions—offering to go for a walk, preparing food together, or communicating care through quiet presence and nonverbal support. At other times, it means stepping back to reconnect with my sense of purpose and remembering my “why” when life feels overwhelming. And when things feel too heavy to carry alone, leaning on community and faith becomes essential.

As a South Asian Muslim woman, one of my personal goals is to highlight the relationship between culture and mental wellbeing, particularly the ways our psychological experiences are shaped across generations. The collectivist values and strong sense of community I grew up with often contrast with the more individualistic environments I see around me today. I’m interested in exploring how we can find balance—without feeling like we must leave parts of ourselves behind in order to fit into dominant narratives.

I want to highlight experiences that move beyond the idea that we succeed alone. Our villages matter. The communities that support us make it possible for us to move forward together. Spaces like these have helped me recognize patterns of academic burnout and find pathways toward healing, and I hope to encourage other young people to start conversations about mental health within their own circles.

At the same time, I try to hold a broader perspective. While parts of my identity include experiences of marginalization, I also carry privilege as a settler living in the Global North. I believe in remaining accountable—by educating myself about histories of colonization, speaking up against injustice, and encouraging dialogue that deepens understanding.

Closer to home, I stay engaged with policies that impact students and young people and share information in ways that make those issues more accessible. Understanding how decisions affect our communities empowers people to take action and advocate for change.

If you’d like to follow along with my journey, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn or Instagram. I’m always excited to connect with other young people interested in supporting their communities, professionals working to make a meaningful impact in health and education, and opportunities for public speaking.

The Unsinkable Champion Spotlight Series celebrates the voices of our Champions—individuals across Canada who are helping build a culture where mental health conversations are open, inclusive, and rooted in lived experience.

Embers is a short story about breaking free from the past—and the quiet, cumulative cost of staying shaped by it.

Centred on a woman standing at the edge of change, Embers traces the moment when old narratives begin to loosen their grip. Long after the fire has burned out, something still smoulders: memory, desire, unfinished grief, and the learned restraint that once kept her safe but now keeps her small. The story unfolds in the space between who she was taught to be and who she is becoming, exploring how women are conditioned to contain themselves to survive.

Written by Lola Thomson, a Registered Psychotherapist dedicated to helping women “have their cake and eat it too,” Embers is shaped by both professional insight and lived experience. Drawing from her own suffering and healing, Thomson writes from the inside of transformation rather than at a distance, blending psychological depth with emotional truth.

Rather than offering a dramatic rupture, Embers focuses on a subtler form of change—the kind that happens when the past no longer gets to decide the future. It is a story of release rather than erasure, asking what becomes possible when women stop shrinking and allow what still burns to become a source of warmth, power, and growth.

Brennan Jackson is a high school student who was born with Cerebral Palsy. His favorite metaphor for his life is that it is a choppy sea, because most of his life and mental health journey have been about figuring out how to stay calm and navigate the challenges in his life. He loves sharing the lessons he’s learned and the challenges he’s overcome with others. He had the chance to speak at RALLY, an event in Toronto, talking about the balance between mental health and social media, where he had the chance to share how his disability has impacted his mental health and how he views himself in the world around him as a result. He has much to share about overcoming internal and external ableism and anxiety, and how his faith has shaped the path to discovering self-love.

Read Brennan’s Unsinkable Story

Update from Unsinkable Champion Alumnus (2023-2025): Kenny M'Pindou

Hi, I’m Kenny, and I started the Alliance of Young Stutterers of Alberta because I know what it’s like to feel nervous or unsure about speaking. Stuttering can be frustrating and isolating, especially as a young person trying to find your place in the world. Too often, people assume you need to be “fixed,” but what we really need is support, understanding, and a safe space to be ourselves.

That’s exactly what AYSA is about. We want young people who stutter to feel seen, heard, and confident. Through workshops, mentorship, and community events, I want to help youth connect with others who get it, share experiences, and build practical skills to speak up and own their voices.

Every program will be guided by the idea that stuttering isn’t a problem to be solved, it’s just part of who we are. We want young people to feel proud of their voices, comfortable sharing their stories, and supported in all areas of life.

This work matters because no one should feel alone or misunderstood because of the way they speak. Being part of AYSA means joining a community that truly cares, lifts each other up, and helps young people find confidence in themselves.

I’m excited for what’s ahead and grateful to anyone who supports our mission. Together, we’re helping young people who stutter feel proud, strong, and heard.

https://aysaalberta.ca/

Custom illustration by Wing Lam Chan @lamc_illust on Instagram.

Lamplight Issue #3 is here! by Mikaela Brewer

We’re honoured and excited to offer the third issue of Lamplight, an Unsinkable Publication for mental health care providers. Here is a message from Mikaela on what this issue means—for all of us:

After I lost my therapist to suicide in 2020, I wanted to do something as someone outside the mental health care field—without the associated ’titles’ & ‘letters’ at the end of my name. Lamplight is that something; a space for mental health care providers to redefine what it means to care for others & themselves. In this issue, they certainly have.

Across contributions spanning law, poetry, peer support, psychotherapy, coaching, and adjacent forms of caregiving, this issue looks into the past to expand our definition of mental health care. Hindsight is 20/20—we always look back with perspective, whether critical, compassionate, or both. But Lamplight’s third issue asks us to hold this relationship with tenderness. How do we revise and annotate our approaches to offering informed care, allowing this process to share space with our lived experience—without shame? How do we navigate and hold multiple truths: that 1) care and empathy are essential as everyone continues to meet fractured care systems, and 2) that care providers must be in relationship with their fluctuating capacity to give?

We can always do something—a potent reminder these days. And I believe one thing we can always do is recognize that we’re all caregivers and receivers in some way.

So, I invite you to be held and seen by these stories.

Read the full issue here & more at thelamplightmag.substack.com

Upcoming Events

The Mend Project Showcase

March 14, 2026 | 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST

Are you an artist? Or an arts appreciator? Then we’ve got something for you!

We are inviting you, valued member of our Unsinkable community, to The MEND Project showcase!

What’s MEND? Glad you asked! MEND is an art project where Toronto-based BIPOC 2SLGBTQIA+ youth artists will exhibit works that answer the questions: “What are you healing from?” and “What brings you joy?” The idea is that healing is a thread used to stitch our wounds, a mending so-to-speak – and we hold the sewing needle. That is to say, The MEND Project is a celebration of the joy that we intentionally cultivate in our lives.

We are still recruiting artists, so if you’d like to take part, please fill out this form by March 5

Or if you’re just interested in bearing witness, The MEND Project showcase is happening on Saturday, March 14, 2026, from 1–4 p.m. at TMU’s Design Fabrication Zone (341 Yonge Street, 3rd Floor). We are cultivating a brave space for storytelling, community connection, and transformation. And of course, there will be food – Jamaican fusion finger bites.

That’s all for now. See you there! :)

World Storytelling Day - Creating Connections: Light in the Dark

In honour of World Storytelling Day (March 20), Unsinkable and Storytellers of Canada – Conteurs du Canada (SC-CC) are coming together through the Creating Connections program to host a two-part online storytelling conversation inspired by this year’s global theme: Light in the Dark.

We are living in a time where many are carrying unseen stories, stories of uncertainty, resilience, grief, courage, reinvention, and quiet strength. When held with care, those stories become light. They help us make sense of what we’ve lived through. They create recognition in others. They remind us that even in difficult seasons, connection is possible.

This collaborative gathering invites storytellers, listeners, and community members into a thoughtful space where lived experience is honoured and authentic dialogue is welcomed. Guided by moderator prompts, we will explore:

How story helps us navigate darkness and find meaning
The power of vulnerability in building connection
The role of storytelling in fostering hope and collective resilience
How listening, deeply and without judgment, can be its own form of light

This event is about sharing our experiences of stories and storytelling rather than sharing the stories themselves. It is about real voices, shared reflection, and the human capacity to illuminate one another’s paths.

Together, we will create a space where stories are not simply told, they are witnessed, held, and allowed to spark connection.

Session 1 – French

Friday, March 20 | 1:00 PM (ET) Moderated by: Alexandre Matte (President, SC-CC Board) & Emmanuelle Sansfaçon (Board Director, Unsinkable)

For more information in French, please click here

Session 2 – English

Friday, March 27 | 1:00 PM (ET) Moderated by: Christine Hennebury (Past President, SC-CC) & Afreina Noor (Board Member, SC-CC / Partnerships Lead, Unsinkable)

Each session follows the same theme and conversational format, offered in two languages to ensure accessibility and meaningful participation across communities.

Join us as we gather in story, to reflect, to listen, and to discover how light emerges when we share our experiences with courage and care.

Click here to register - March 27

Cliquez ici pour vous inscrire - 20 mars

NEW: The Legend of Unsinkable Workbook

We’re so excited to offer you the Legend of Unsinkable workbook, a custom-illustrated, interactive storybook. Both English and French digital workbooks are now available in our merch shop, with print editions coming very soon!

This workbook is written specifically for our community and illustrated by the wonderfully talented Wing Lam Chan (@lamc_illust). The Legend of Unsinkable is at once an intimate folktale and a fierce friend. Built to nurture the cyclical proximity and relationship between storyteller and audience, your story will become part of our legend as you write or draw your thoughts on dedicated craft pages.

We invite you, wholeheartedly, to become part of this not-so-fictional Legend of Unsinkable, whether at the beginning, middle, or end (always a beginning!) of your storytelling journey.

Watch/listen to Mikaela share more about how The Legend of Unsinkable came to be here.

Please stay tuned for print editions in both English & French, ‘storytime’ videos with Wing & Mikaela, and a facilitation guide to embark on The Legend of Unsinkable journey with friends & family.

Purchase a digital workbook in English or French here

Explore Mental Health Resources