Asante Haughton Explained

Asante Haughton is a Jamaican-born Toronto-based human rights and mental health advocate and the co-founder of Reach Out Response Network.

Family life

Haughton was born Jamaica before moving to Toronto with mother where he was a gifted student.^[1] He has two brothers.^[2]

Haughton speaks openly about his depression and anxiety which developed from his experiences as a 10th-grade student when his mother tried to take her own life, but ended up instead hospitalized for months.

He used poetry and rap as an outlet for his emotions and excelled at basketball before getting help from his family doctor.^[3]

Career and activism

Haughton is the manager of peer support training at Stella's Place youth mental health organization in Toronto^{[4] [5]} and a mental health consultant for Vice.^[6]

He co-founded Reach Out Response Network with Rachel Bromberg in 2020^{[7] [8]} and contracted COVID-19 the same year.^[9]

He does research with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.^[10]

Music career

Haughton raps and has collaborated with Toronto rapper Derek Christoff.^{[11] [12]}

Publications

• Haughton wrote the foreword for Brainstorm Revolution: True mental health stories of love, personal evolution, and cultural revolution, 2018 ^[13]
• Haughton, A, Ashcroft, R, Menear, M, Greenblatt, A, et al. Patient perspectives on quality of care for depression and anxiety in primary health care teams: A qualitative study. Health Expectations. 2021; 24: 1168– 1177.
• Ferrari, M., Flora, N., Anderson, K.K., Haughton, A., Tuck, A., Archie, S., Kidd, S., McKenzie, K. and (2018), Gender differences in pathways to care for early psychosis. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 12: 355-361.
• The alternative to calling the police during a mental health crisis, Toronto Star, 2020

External links

• Official website
• His Ted Talk

Notes and References

1. Web site: Asante said Not Today . 2022-03-29 . CAMH . en-CA.
2. Siebert, M. (2020). Heads Up: Changing Minds on Mental Health. Barbados: Orca Book Publishers.
3. News: 10 Oct 2012 . Mental illness impact said to be bigger than cancer . CBC .
4. News: McGillivray . Kate . 5 Oct 2021 . Mental health impacts of pandemic on Toronto's young people could linger for years: report . CBC .
5. Web site: 2021-03-31 . Meet Our Team at Stella's Place Young Adult Mental Health . 2022-03-29 . en-US.
6. Web site: Asante Haughton Canadian Music Week . 2022-03-29 . en-US.
7. Web site: Blurring the Blue Line University of Toronto Magazine . 2022-03-29 . University of Toronto Magazine . 23 September 2021 . en-US.
8. News: Gillis . Wendy . 2020-08-03 . These mental health advocates are working on an alternative to police intervention when someone is in crisis. . en-CA . The Toronto Star . 2022-03-29 . 0319-0781.
9. Web site: Lavoie . Joanna . 23 Dec 2020 . 'Never been so sick in my entire life': Toronto man shares his COVID-19 story . 2022-03-29 . Toronto . en.
10. Ferrari . Manuela . Flora . Nina . Anderson . Kelly K. . Tuck . Andrew . Archie . Suzanne . Kidd . Sean . McKenzie . Kwame . 2015-01-01 . The African, Caribbean and European (ACE) Pathways to Care study: a qualitative exploration of similarities and differences between African-origin, Caribbean-origin and European-origin groups in pathways to care for psychosis . BMJ Open . en . 5 . 1 . e006562 . 10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006562 . 2044-6055 . 25588783. 4298103 .
11. Web site: 2019-01-30 . D-Sisive returns to music after struggle with depression and addiction . 2022-03-29 . NOW Magazine . en-US.
12. Web site: Meet #CAMH #DifferenceMaker Asante Haughton . 2022-03-29 . give.camh.ca.
13. Book: Down . Heather . Harris . Natalie M. . Taylor . Courtney . Brainstorm Revolution . Wintertickle Press . 2018 . 978-1-894813-95-2.