The Work So Far
In 2017, Somerset West Community Health Centre (SWCHC) created an Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Policy.
To make this policy practical at the community level, SWCHC has developed an anti-racism community initiative. As a first step, we hosted five community conversations with racialized community members in 2018-2019. Participants shared their experiences of racism and discrimination and recommendations for next steps.
The next phase of the work was the co-creation of a community-based anti-racism plan with a group of nine community members. Participants identified as Indigenous, Asian, Muslim, African and Black and live, work and/or use services in the catchment area.
Participants provided recommendations to SWCHC in its work with residents and partners to build anti-racism capacity in the community. They include:
Community anti-racism training
Open and ongoing dialogues
Healing racial trauma
White people advancing racial justice
Platform for racialized youth in school and community
Advocacy for systems change
Infographics
Anti-Racism Community Conversations Report in English, Chinese and Vietnamese
Community Anti-Racism Initiative Summary in Arabic, Chinese, English, Vietnamese, Khmer and French.
Virtual Events
Since the Fall of 2020, SWCHC has hosted virtual events to engage with community members on various anti-racism topics. It is a response to a request from the community for open discussions on racism and anti-racism.
Healing Racial Trauma and Community-Based Healing
What does COVID-19 tell us about Systemic Racism?
An Indigenous Perspective on Dealing with Grief
Anti-Asian Racism: The Past, Present and Future
For more info about these events: https://www.swchc.on.ca/post/anti-asian-racism-community-conversation
Meaningful engagement is necessary in this collective struggle to end racism. With support from Human Rights Internet, we will create these spaces for ongoing dialogue in 2021. Stay tuned for more details.
Next Steps
In 2021, we will be working with community members and partners to create a work plan on the following recommendations:
Community anti-racism training
Healing racial trauma
White people doing the work for racial justice
Thanks to the United Way Eastern Ontario for their support!
If you are a racialized community member and interested in getting involved in this new phase of the work please let us know by filling out this form at https://forms.gle/RSD87Z5n7hxNQkMCA.
Please feel free to contact Larisa Cheshire at 613-279-3717 or email lcheshire@swchc.on.ca; or Pei-Ju at (613)-299-1286 or email pwang@swchc.on.ca if you have any question about this initiative.
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