Help build a better future—starting with your experience.

Rhythm & Blues Cambridge invites you to take part in the Pulse Check Survey, a community-wide effort to better understand the health, well-being, and daily experiences of Black residents across Waterloo Region.

This isn’t just a survey, it’s a chance to be heard. We’re gathering insights that will help shape local programs, services, funding, and advocacy efforts in our region. Your lived experience matters.

Whether you're speaking from personal experience or standing in support, your input will help guide meaningful change.

TAKE THE SURVEY

What is the Survey About?

We’re asking about topics that have been identified by R&BC as priorities for the Black community like:

Access to housing, healthcare, mental health supports
Transportation, safety, and public services
Everyday experiences navigating systems and services in Waterloo Region

What to Expect

Time commitment: ~30–40 minutes
Who can participate: Anyone aged 14+ living in Waterloo Region
Incentive: Enter a draw to win 1 of 100+ gift cards of your choice
Access: Online and fully confidential
Languages: Available in multiple languages including English, French, Amharic, Tigrinya, Somali, and Arabic.

Why this Matters

We want to make sure that we capture the needs and assets of Black communities in Waterloo Region because these experiences are too often missing from the data that shapes decisions.

Real change starts with real stories.
One coffee break. One episode of your favourite show. 30 minutes.
That’s all it takes to shift systems and shape years of impact.

The insights gathered from the Pulse Check Survey will:

Identify key gaps in services
Inform local policy and funding decisions
Help shape programs based on lived experience
This is a step toward building systems that reflect the realities of the people they’re meant to serve.

Who Should Fill this Out?

Black-identified residents of Waterloo Region, this includes:

Youth (14+) and adults
Newcomers and long-term residents
Multilingual speakers
Parents and caregivers
Elders and seniors

Who is Behind This?

This survey is led by Rhythm & Blues Cambridge, a Black-led, community-rooted organization focused on advancing health, equity, and cultural connection for Black residents in the region. Our goal is to collect 1,000 responses, can you help us meet that goal?

Take the survey

More FAQs

A: Your responses are kept confidential, and no identifying information will be shared at any point. Survey data will only be accessed by authorized members of the R&BC research team.
At the end of the survey, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up for future focus groups or one-on-one interviews, to stay engaged with the R&BC team and to enter to win a raffle prize. To do so, you will be directed to a separate link to provide your contact details (this will not be connected to your survey responses in any way). You can find more information about the confidentiality protocols once you enter the survey link.
A: The risks of participating are minimal. Some questions revolve around mental health, experiences of discrimination, experiences of homelessness, and other areas that impact child and youth well-being. Although they aren’t intended to do so, these questions may make some youth uncomfortable, as they may be difficult to read, and/or remind them of challenging personal experiences. These questions may also spark difficult conversations with you as the guardian.
Please note that all the questions are optional. You can skip any question you don’t wish to answer, and there is a survey specific to youth and one specific for adults.
We also encourage you to prioritize your own well-being when completing the survey. If needed, please reach out to any one of the following resources for support:
- Front Door (for youth) – 519-749-2932
- Kids Help Phone – 1-800-668-6868 or text 686868
- Counselling Collaborative of Waterloo Region – 519-804-1097
- Here 24/7 – 1-844-437-3247 (HERE247)
A: Black-identified community members aged 14 and older living in Waterloo Region are welcome to participate.
A: We have two versions! One for youth and one for adults. The surveys take about 30–40 minutes to complete.
Tip: You can think of it as the length of a coffee break, a power nap, or one TV episode.
A: Yes! You’ll be invited to enter a draw for a gift card after completing the survey. We have over 100 gift card prizes!
A: No, you’ll need to do all at once. The reason for this is because we don’t track any identifying information about you, so we have no way of knowing where you left off.
A: Too often, existing datasets in Waterloo Region and across Canada do not share insights from the experiences of Black community members. This means that the specific needs, strengths and challenges of Black residents are frequently hidden within broader “visible minority” categories. The Pulse Check survey is designed to capture the unique voices of Black residents in Waterloo Region and to use standardized tools that allow for meaningful comparisons with regional and national data. By building this localized, community-specific dataset, we can better identify gaps, highlight assets and push for programs, services and policies that truly reflect the realities of Black youth, families and seniors. Your participation ensures that decisions made in our region are informed by accurate evidence from the community itself.
A: Beyond completing the survey, there are several ways to stay engaged. R&BC will be hosting focus group sessions throughout the fall where community members can share their experiences in more depth. Once the survey is finalized and analyzed, we will also share the results publicly in early 2026 so that everyone can see what the data shows and how it will be used.
After finishing the survey, you will be directed to a separate form where you can sign up to join a focus group or receive updates.
Finally, you can make a big impact by sharing the survey link with your friends, family, and networks — our goal is to hear from at least 1,000 Black residents across Waterloo Region.