Our Stories
As part of our commitment to building healthy, vibrant communities, the Medavie Foundation aims to support mental wellbeing by improving access to counselling and support services that are culturally responsive and offered in spaces where young people feel safe, welcome, and connected.
As we learn and reflect during Black History Month, we share the impactful work being done in Saskatoon by Medavie Foundation partner Truly Alive Youth & Family Foundation.
Across Canada, many Black youth and families are still navigating systems that were not built with their cultures, histories, or lived experiences in mind. This is why the work of Truly Alive Youth & Family Foundation is so important, and why their doors remain open as a place where people feel a sense of belonging, inspiration, and opportunity.
Truly Alive Youth & Family Foundation Inc. (TAYFFI) is a Black-led, Black-serving, Black-focused organization that serves individuals and families in Saskatoon and other communities across Saskatchewan. Their programs are culturally responsive and focused on creating real change. Their mission is shaped by a long history and ongoing impacts of systemic racism, discrimination, and limited access to essential supports. These challenges continue to create barriers to health equity and socioeconomic opportunity.
“We aim to ensure that no one is left behind in attaining quality of life,” says Anthony Olusola, Executive Director at TAYFFI. “We want young people to feel and truly believe that they matter, and that what they need to thrive, not just survive, is available to them.”
One of the organization’s most important services is also one of the rarest in Saskatchewan. It provides clinical counselling designed specifically to support Black communities. TAYFFI is the only organization in the province providing culturally competent mental health counselling for Black individuals and families.
“Mental health support isn’t always something Black individuals feel safe seeking out,” Olusola explains. “There are cultural concerns, and there’s a lack of trust when services aren’t responsive to lived experience.”
“We provide counselling that acknowledges cultural identity and nuance because that’s what makes care effective.”
The counselling program focuses especially on youth and young adults. It recognizes adolescence as an important time for development and planning for the future. More young people are now referring themselves to the program, showing increased trust in the support available.
“We’re hearing youth say they want support where their identity is not pushed away, but appreciated and acknowledged,” says Olusola. “And often, supporting one young person opens the door to supporting the whole family.”
With support from the Medavie Foundation, TAYFFI provides counselling sessions and promotes healthy living through cooking activities and nutrition education. This holistic approach is intentional because TAYFFI understands that wellbeing cannot be supported in pieces.
The organization offers a wide range of programs for women, men, youth, seniors, and families. One example is their youth programming called Emerging Leaders, which helps individuals build language skills, leadership, and self-worth. The name was chosen on purpose to challenge negative stereotypes and to affirm the value and potential of young people.
“We aren’t giving them something they don’t already have within themselves. They are already worthy, and we are building on that. If they receive the message that they don’t belong, they begin to dream less,” Olusola shares. “Our naming, branding, and delivery model are designed to help Black youth see themselves as capable, able, and deserving.”
Trust is also strengthened through the spaces TAYFFI creates. Youth program coordinators are young people themselves, fostering peer support and balanced relationships. In these spaces, the impact of TAYFFI’s work is often seen in the small, everyday moments. Young people stay after programs end, laugh openly, connect with others, and begin to rebuild their confidence.
“You can tell when joy comes from within,” Olusola reflects. “That’s what we see — genuine connection, trust, and belonging.”
This focus on long-term, community-led solutions is the foundation of the partnership between TAYFFI and the Medavie Foundation. Both organizations understand that real change happens when programs are shaped by lived experience and sustained over time.
“Every young person deserves to feel seen, valued, and supported,” says Andrea Elliott, Director of Social Responsibility and the Medavie Foundation. “We’re proud to partner with Truly Alive Youth and Family Foundation because the impact of their work is grounded in dignity, cultural understanding, and community strength.”
For Olusola, the partnership represents an investment in lasting inclusion.
“Beyond filling gaps in service, our vision is to build a society where Black communities are supported fully and continuously,” he explains. “Black history is Canada’s history. When we work together in tangible ways, there is more trust, more goodness, and more opportunity for all of us to thrive.”
Truly Alive Youth & Family Foundation Inc. shows what is possible when communities are truly seen, valued, and supported. Their work helps strengthen belonging, equity, and opportunity not only for individuals, but for families and future generations.
