a community where women, trans, non-binary folks, and their children are empowered and safe take action at nyws.ca
February • 2022
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What Does it Mean to Center Survivors?: Trauma-Informed Care Means Redesigning Space, Reimagining Services North York Women’s Shelter (NYWS) has been offering anti-violence support to individuals experiencing gender-based violence in the GTA since 1984. We provide shelter and programming for women, trans, and non-binary individuals who live under the threat of violence, including their children and their pets. In March 2020, we opened our new, secure, fully accessible 24,000 square foot complex consisting of two distinct but linked buildings: an emergency shelter space and the Anne Marie D’Amico Community Collective. Since opening and transforming our physical space and as we evolve as an organization, we have transformed how we think about our work and challenged ourselves to evolve in how we deliver services. This new space allowed us to increase our shelter capacity by 33 percent and increase services, including Food Justice and Food Security program, Expressive Arts Therapy, Trauma Counselling services, and our kennel for
pets. Due to the pandemic, our vision for the Anne Marie D’Amico Community Collective had to be adapted. The Community Collective was home to counselling sessions, onsite schooling during the pandemic, a site for vaccination clinics, children’s programming, and a necessary wellness space in the form of the gym and meditation space. It is also the home of our primary health clinic, Black Creek Community Health Centre, our partner and primary health care and vaccine education provider for residents. We look forward to providing wrap-around services to individuals within the North York Community who are experiencing violence. There has been a longstanding pattern of failure to understand the intersectionality of violence affecting women. This failure has not only affected funding structures and programming of organizations created to help these individuals, but has also
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perpetuated harm. Larger still, the non-profit sector as a whole was founded on oppressive structures of racism, colonialism, and exploitation. Here at NYWS, we continue to acknowledge this harm and are always looking for ways to address and reduce it. Learning from our history, we have adopted Trauma-Informed principles rooted in Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression. We want to build relationships of trust
with residents and participants, where we honour and respect their voices and choices. We understand that individuals who use our services have different needs based on their lived experience and that it is our job to do our best to meet them where they are. This means that, at our core, we operate with trauma awareness, safety, and harm reduction. NYWS recognizes the link between violence, trauma,
mental health, and substance use and is committed to supporting survivors. Our central role in this healing process for our clients is to maintain dignity, privacy, and provide an environment conducive to healing. Our new space requires more staff to keep up with the increased demand and more expertise to ensure that we remain rooted in our values. Since opening, we have expanded our staffing by 40 percent. We rely on financial support for our core mission funding, including staffing, building expenses, and administrative costs. These costs are sometimes mistaken as not contributing directly to the fight against gender-based violence—but how do we fight gender-based violence without trained staff, without resources, without operating costs? As we fight gender-based violence every day, we want to ask you to rethink what shelter work means and, more importantly, what it means to support a shelter.
Canadians Embrace the Movement: #TapeOutHate ALLIE MURRAY
Working towards eliminating racism in hockey, the Hockey Diversity Alliance (HDA) is sharing an important message: this game is for us all. Led by a founding team of Canadian NHL stars, the Hockey Diversity Alliance was formed by NHL players of colour who saw an immediate need to organize and create a platform to end racism and intolerance in hockey. The HDA started the new year off strong, teaming up with Budweiser Canada to launch the #TapeOutHate campaign. The #TapeOutHate campaign was inspired by HDA members’ collective and personal experiences dealing with race and its role in hockey. To drive visibility for the campaign, Budweiser Canada designed a special roll of hockey tape featuring the campaign slogan, with $1 from each roll going towards supporting the HDA. The campaign was met with unbelievable support: selling out the rolls of tape in six hours. When planning the
#TapeOutHate campaign, five of the founding members—Akim Aliu, Nazem Kadri, Anthony Duclair, Wayne Simmonds, and Matt Dumba—sat in a circle in a dimly lit locker room and were asked to share their experiences with racism in sport. Expecting the recording to last no more than half an hour, the players were stunned when the director called cut and they had been
speaking for nearly 90 minutes. “It’s completely different when you’re a white player,” Dumba said in the video. “People still don’t understand that.” Since selling out, the tape restocked online and is now available at Canadian Tire stores. The HDA was founded by current and former NHL players of colour in the wake of George Floyd’s death in May
2020 to raise awareness about racism in hockey and encourage BIPOC players to get involved in the sport. “We’re only so many within this game, so we need allies to speak up for us,” Duclair said. “Whether it’s other players, brands, or sport fans of any kind, we need the support of others to help make this a movement, so silence is not an option.
(L TO R) ANTHONY DUCLAIR, MATT DUMBA, WAYNE SIMMONDS, NAZEM KADRI, AKIM ALIU © BUDWEISER CANADA
If you get more diversity in hockey, it’s only going to make the game better.” Reflecting on his career, Aliu commented on the first time he was racialized, concluding on how it followed him through his professional career until his retirement in 2020. “I was ten years old when an opposing team member’s parent called me a racial slur on-ice for the first time,” he explained. “[January] marked 64 years since the first Black professional hockey player—Willie O’Ree— made his NHL debut, and yet, acts of racism towards Black players remain prevalent at all levels of the sport. By showcasing a snippet of the real, lived experiences of racism the BIPOC community faces when trying to play a game that we love, we hope to inspire a groundswell of change, because racism has no place in hockey.” ADVERTORIAL
Black Youth Helpline: Improving Health and Well-Being for Canada’s Vulnerable Youth Black Youth Helpline is a registered charitable organization that serves vulnerable youth in communities across Canada. The organization works with youth, schools, and families to build healthy, successful, and productive futures for youth.
success for the next generation of leaders and create a community to help position them to be their best. Black Youth Helpline puts its mission into action by working collaboratively with government, communities, and businesses to drive and support sustainable change.
THREE (3) KEY PILLARS Black Youth Helpline delivers programs focused on three strategic pillars: 1. EDUCATION
Education is a key investment in the future of Black youth. Educational activities are focused on engaging with governments and school districts across Canada to help vulnerable youth stay in school and get an education. Over the years, the Black Youth Helpline has participated in various school initiatives and workshops to provide culturally relevant support to families and school districts.
© COURTESY OF BLACK YOUTH HELPLINE
and underserved youth across the country. Black Youth Helpline is working towards equitable access to professional mental health assessment and treatment. This helps to address the major barriers faced by diverse youth in nurturing a healthy mind, body, and spirit.
and Black Youth Helpline knows that through strategic partnerships with clients, other organizations, and businesses, they can deliver greater impact to their communities. Black Youth Helpline is building upon existing relationships with schools, law enforcement agencies, universities, cor2. HEALTH 3. COMMUNITY CAPACITY porations, and various non-profits Society has an important responsi- BUILDING to help achieve the strategic goals bility to care for underrepresented Partnership is a powerful tool, of the organization. This includes
providing mentoring, networking, and training opportunities that can lead to greater social cohesion, job security, and income levels. These investments in vulnerable families and communities will result in a more innovative and productive society. A POWERFUL MISSION Black Youth Helpline aims to develop equitable pathways to
BUILDING MORE INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES TOGETHER Your financial backing, the depth of volunteerism, and other resources you bring to support Black Youth Helpline has been inspiring to our youth and helps prepare them for longterm success. The overwhelming response from across Canada to help those from underserved and underrepresented communities thrive as contributing members of society is proof that positive change is more than possible here in Canada. That together, we can build a better future for all youth. Thank you, Canada!
BLACK YOUTH HELPLINE IS PROUD TO BE BUILDING ON
30 YEARS OF SERVICE TO CANADIAN YOUTH We would like to hear from you. We offer many ways to support projects that you feel passionate about. Learn more at blackyouth.ca
Phone 416-285-9944 • 1-833-294-8650
email info@blackyouth.ca
