Connect with Us

I sort of fell into this work, as many of us do, and what keeps me in it is the brilliance of those that I work with. The willingness of others to be vulnerable with me, to be brave enough to ask for help and to challenge themselves will never cease to amaze me. I also love how many avenues exist for prevention and response work – education, accountability and community engagement, to name a few, can be such meaningful facets of this work!

I get to do many different things in my role, but primarily, I support survivors directly through counselling and case management, do gender-based violence education and programming in the broader Laurier community, and sometimes I even get to design the sweet stickers, taco stress balls and other funky merchandise you see around campus!

Self and community care are amongst the most important things to create sustainability in gender-justice work! I like to keep a full toolbox of ways I care for myself, but some highlights include holding firm boundaries around work hours, engaging in community organizing and solidarity movements, embracing moments of lightness with my loved ones, petting cats, saying no to things, and making lots and lots of art.

Community keeps community safe, not government entities. Knowing many folx who have been impacted by gender-based harms of all kinds, I believe there needs to be a shift from only responding to and supporting those impacted by harm, but supporting those who have or may cause harm to break the cycle. In my work as a counselor, I often have clients share their experience surviving harm, causing harm, or both. The stigma and shame associated with these experiences often leaves those impacted feeling alone and isolated and I consider it an honour to be trusted to walk along side folx on their journeys of healing and/or accountability. 

In my role I primarily support those who have caused harm through accountability coaching. I speak to classes about gender-based violence, sexual harassment, and other topics related to community safety. I am also collaborating with friends and colleagues at Laurier and beyond on creating and facilitating support groups for male identified folx. 

Mariame Kaba says "[H]ope is a discipline..." that is one of my favourite quotes and reminds me that good things cannot be left to chance but require deliberate efforts. When things seem overwhelming (which could be daily) those words are reminder not only of the work to be done but the progress that continues to be achieved. It is a reminder to get out of my head and seek out beauty, joy, rest, and imagination.

The hope of establishing compassionate mindfulness connections in supporting anti-oppression-focused approaches that blend accountability with the intention of healing disempowered communities.

As a Sexual Violence Counsellor – MSW Student.

Providing individual trauma-informed counselling and advocacy as well as support resources creation, group facilitation, and outreach initiatives. Currently, I am working on creating three separate psycho educational tools on the following three topics in relation to sexual violence: Ambiguous Loss, Cultural Betrayal Trauma, and Despair.

Learning and sustaining the practice of self-compassion because it gives me the strength to care for others. When I feel connected to my essential humanity, it’s easier to relate to self and others with appreciation and kindness.

I am driven to gender justice work by a passion for understanding how gender operates in the world, and a desire to confront and dismantle the injustices that are perpetuated within our communities. Furthermore, my approach to this work is grounded in recognizing intersectional experiences of oppression and advocating for the unique challenges faced by individuals at the intersections of various forms of oppression.

Currently, my attention is centered on managing the administrative aspects of our sexual violence certificate as well as creating support-based resources. I am also engaged in creating social media content and contributing to outreach initiatives.

I prioritize self-care by making time for reflection and relaxation. I enjoy finding opportunities to be creative through art (I love to collage, bead, and paint) and enjoy reading and writing. I engage in community care through nurturing the relationships around me, either by bonding over shared interests or through cooking or caregiving for the people in my community.

I believe that curating a consent culture is a vital part of resisting all systems of oppression. This work is incredibly important for us to build more a pleasurable, consensual, and caring world.

Currently, my main focuses include writing the weekly Healing Justice Newsletter, social media content curation and supporting workshop facilitation/administrative work.

Spending time in nature, making space for creativity in community and creating intentional time for rest.