Chidera Onyegbule
Chidera Onyegbule is a community facilitator, BIPOC Therapist, and advocate for culturally responsive mental-health support. She is a candidate for Master of Education in Counselling Psychology from the University of Toronto, holds a Bachelors Degree in Neuroscience and mental health, and a post-graduate certification in Community Development. Her work is grounded in anti-oppressive, neurodiversity-affirming, and culturally responsive approaches to care. Chidera is passionate about creating spaces where Black, racialized, and neurodivergent people can feel understood without having to separate parts of their identity. Through NeuroNoir, she is building community connection, practical resource-sharing, and opportunities for Black neurodivergent young people to feel affirmed, supported, and engage in collective healing.
NeuroNoir: The Black Neurodivergent Youth Project
NeuroNoir: The Black Neurodivergent Youth Project is a free, community-centred initiative for Black neurodivergent youth and young adults in St. Catharines (and ontario-wide, virtually). Through psychoeducation, facilitated connection, practical resource-sharing, and lived-experience guidance, the project creates space to explore identity, mental wellness, masking, belonging, and racialized experiences. NeuroNoir is designed to reduce isolation and help participants build affirming relationships, knowledge, and support networks without having to separate their Black and neurodivergent identities.
About this Project
Communities Served
My project will involve and/or impact the following communities:
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
When it comes to community impact projects, the UN has created 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These are the Sustainable Development Goals associated with my project.
How the project works
From September 2026 to January 2027, NeuroNoir will engage Black neurodivergent youth and young adults through free facilitated group sessions, community-informed planning, and resource-sharing. A lived-experience advisory committee will help guide the project. Participants will explore identity, well-being, connection, and practical supports while building relationships that can continue beyond the project.
Project Impact
NeuroNoir will reach an estimated 26–50 people through direct group participation, advisory-committee engagement, and resource-sharing. The project aims to reduce isolation, increase access to practical supports, normalize diverse ways of thinking and relating, and strengthen belonging for Black neurodivergent young people. Participants may leave with greater self-understanding, new allies, and connections to ongoing community resources.
Project Mission
NeuroNoir’s mission is to create a free, affirming, and intersectional space where Black neurodivergent youth and young adults can access learning, connection, and resources that honour their whole selves. The project works to address isolation and gaps in support by centring Black identity, neurodiversity, lived experience, practical well-being, and community care.
Project Team
Community-informed and clinically supported by Registered Psychotherapists (CRPO), the NeuroNoir project team reflects lived experience, facilitation, and clinical supervision for neurodiversity-affirming care.
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