Join us on Zoom, for an intimate discussion of the community and clinical implications of mental health and addiction within the Punjabi, Sikh community in Canada. This event hopes to create a shared space for professionals, students, and the community to gather, listen and share stories of challenge, resilience, and community. We hope to increase the dialogue around issues pertaining to the intersections of Sikhi, colonization, addiction, trauma, and immigration and to demonstrate the need for community services, public dialogue, and research concerning these issues.
Manvinder Kaur (Event Moderator):
Manvinder Kaur Gill is a community-based researcher whose work is centered on religion, culture, and health equity. She holds a BSc. and a BA (hons.) from the University of Winnipeg. Her MA thesis in religious studies from McMaster University interrogated the intersections of alcohol and Sikhi, particularly considering influences of colonialism, gender, and trauma. She has held research fellowships at Delhi University and the University of Victoria. She is currently pursuing her Master of Social Work at the University of Toronto and is interested in understanding indigenous Panjabi and Sikh forms of healing for addictions treatment. Her work aims to reimagine colonial narratives and direct energy towards frameworks of love and justice, fostering spaces of co-learning. She is the co-founder of Asra: The Punjabi Alcohol Resource (asranow.ca), a youth-led grassroots initiative bringing her research into practice.
Dr. Kernjeet Kaur Sandhu (Event Panelist):
Dr. Sandhu is a family physician with a special interest in practice in Addiction Medicine. She practices family medicine and addiction medicine in the community. In 2013 she started her addiction work in the northern state of Punjab, India, and launched Punjabi Doc. Thereafter she returned to Winnipeg to continue her work. She is especially interested in educating, supporting, and treating the Punjabi community of Manitoba to improve their access to addiction services.
Amrit Singh [Noyz] (Event Panelist):
Noyz is an author, rapper, spoken word artist, community organizer & mental health professional from Brampton, Ontario. In addition to headlining shows in the US & UK, Noyz facilitates hip hop & mental health workshops where he engages with youth through the healing and transformational powers of music and songwriting. His first book "Keep Moving On: The Migration of a Punjabi-Sikh Family" was released in late 2020.
Hon. Audrey Gordon, Minister of Mental Health, Wellness & recovery (Guest Speaker)
The Honorable Audrey Gordon was elected as the MLA for Southdale on September 10, 2019, and made history as the first Black MLA to be sworn-in as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. With her appointment as Minister of Mental Health, Wellness and Recovery, she has made history once again as Manitobaβs first Black cabinet minister.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree, an MBA, and Certificates in Change Management and Applied Counselling. Minister Gordon was born in Jamaica and is a long-time resident of Winnipeg. She and her husband Winston are the proud parents of two sons.
