LET’S made some great connections at the Just and Sustainable Future Funds summit. 1 is Rochelle Ignacio, Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at the Tamarack Institute.

About the Tamarack Institute: “The Tamarack Institute is a registered charity dedicated to ending poverty in all its forms. We believe true community change occurs when we adopt new ways of thinking and working together. We equip communities with the skills, knowledge, resources, and connections to make lasting, meaningful impacts.

At the heart of Tamarack lies the belief that true community building, engagement and change go beyond mere words — they require genuine care, compassion and action.

Tamarack is a connected force for community change, building the capacity of changemakers in cities and communities, within Canada, and around the world.”

As part of Vancouver Foundation’s latest initiative, the Just and Sustainable Futures Fund, LET’S consulted as a Community Advisor. The fund is a grant stream “[to] invest in the self-determination of people most impacted by systems of oppression, to support the conditions for a just and sustainable future to emerge for all.”

Last month, we interviewed 3 community members and storytellers. The next step was a 3 day summit at The Brew Creek Centre in Whistler. Community advisors came together, with staff of Vancouver Foundation, to share what our storytellers had relayed.

LET’S offered to provide sensory items for all participants. Little did we know how vital bringing the sensory items would be for those who participated. Unfortunately, the way the process was planned and facilitated had many issues. There was a definite lack of cultural and psychological safety.

The issues actually started with the questions provided to community advisors to ask the storytellers. They were very broad and hard to answer. The 3 people LET’S interviewed were unsure if they were giving answers that were in keeping with what Vancouver Foundation was trying to learn. The questions asked participants to share examples of when they had experienced a just and sustainable situation. At the summit, the majority of participants said that the community members they interviewed have not experienced that within their lives.

The way the process was designed, and the agenda, was built in a way that did not properly incorporate community knowledge and experience. Nor did it incorporate appropriate opportunities to create trust in the space before jumping into intense conversations.

Unfortunately, the facilitators that were chosen were not from identities of marginalized populations. This created a barrier, and a disconnect, right from the start. Throughout the first 2 days, there were several missteps and comments that needed to be called out and addressed. The facilitators changed on the 3rd day.

The environment was such that participants did not feel secure in sharing their community members’ stories. Several Community Advisors felt pressured to share personal information. There was a lack of opportunity to build trust and that affected the overall experience.

The agenda that had been planned for the process was completely changed. Participants called in how the process was not equitable. A concern that LET’S raised was that Vancouver Foundation asked us to gather stories than break them down into a form that Vancouver Foundation asked us to fill in prior to the summit. LET’S had refused this and provided the entire interview (unless participants had asked for something to be removed). It is not equitable or just to filter other people’s experiences or words. We should not be the ones deciding what should be shared. We also mentioned that it was a disconnect to invite storygatherers to the summit but not the storytellers. Instead, the storytellers should have been the ones invited to the summit to share their stories in their own way.

Another concern that we named was holding the summit at The Brew Creek Centre. While the staff, location, and food were all great, it must have cost Vancouver Foundation a lot of money. Money that could have been used by the many communities represented by the storygatherers.

As the process continued, past the summit, not all storygatherers agreed to have their storytellers’ stories used by Vancouver Foundation. On the 3rd day of the gathering, we had several people who left and either stayed away for a few hours or refused to return because of the harm they had endured.

Thankfully, there were a few things that did work. The opportunity for the Community Advisors to meet one another and connect, both personally and professionally, was great and very much utilized. Within these relationships, there was support, moments of joy and connection, and the ability to examine and reflect the gatherings. The agenda did not allow for enough time for these relationships to develop and that was certainly noted.

A saving grace of the summit was the attendance and participation of Elder Yvonne Rigsby Jones (Snuneymuxw First Nation, Coast Salish) and Elder John Jones (Tseqalmit). Their stead presence and wise words helped alleviate some of what occurred. They were available within the group sessions and for 1 on 1 conversations. They also utilized Cedar in several ways to bring in a more positive energy. Cedar is used for healing, wellness, and ceremony. Many (but not all) Indigenous communities consider cedar to be 1 of 4 sacred medicines. The others being tobacco, sage and sweet grass. Elder Yvonne and John provided a steady, calm, warm, and comforting energy. Their perspectives and insights throughout helped to lessen the tension. Their presence was vital to the entire experience and very much appreciated.

As the summit was emotionally intense, the sensory items were very much appreciated and utilized. In some moments, it was so intense, that participants rubbed the colour off their acupressure rings. LET’S was thanked by all participants for providing a way for them to release and regulate emotions.

In response to all the feedback, Vancouver Foundation staff went back to work and had discussions about how to proceed. They provided Community Advisors with a survey to gather more information. Vancouver Foundation shared the results with participants. It included the following:

“Your contributions have given us (and continue to give us) the foundation to realign our efforts and the collaborative work we are doing to establish the Just and Sustainable Futures Fund.

While some found meaningful connections–particularly on day 2 during the reintroduction circle and in-between summit spaces (meals, walks, etc), we also recognize and acknowledge that a few of you did not feel psychologically safe and experienced harm along the way. As VF staff, we are convening this week and next week to thoughtfully respond to issues that arose. We don’t have all the answers right now, and we feel the importance of slowing down, reflecting and responding properly in the coming days and weeks. In the meantime, we really appreciate and value your patience as we work through some post-summit logistics.”

LET’S is interested to see what the next stage is for this project and how Vancouver Foundation will adapt to the provided feedback.

In the past few months, participation from community members, including LET’S, has led to valuable feedback and observations. The Beyond the Binary team continues to work towards an updated, national, Beyond the Binary Guide.

LET’S, among others, were asked to:

• Check how your name appears under the Acknowledgements section
• Provide high level feedback on updates and flow
• Flag any errors / clarifications that need to be addressed for accuracy
• Review edits/additions to glossary terms (highlighted) and let us know if you have any additional resources to add, i.e. “to deepen your understanding”

LET’S has also been invited to speak at the  Beyond the Binary National Knowledge Exchange. The Eventbrite page is now live. Register to attend. The event is being held on October 16th, 9:00 am (PST). The event invites “researchers from all disciplines, people with lived and living experience, trainees, health and research administrators, civil society and community groups to join in the discussion and learn about a new national resource package to promote gender equitable, inclusive research.”

Once finalized, the Beyond the Binary in Canada Guide will replace Beyond the Binary in BC as a single national resource.

At our Victoria Pride low sensory space, we were able to provide free menstrual products, such as reusable underwear (up to xxl), menstrual cups, and reusable pads. This was thanks to our partnership with the United Way Period Promise Campaign. The campaign provided select organizations with free reusable menstrual products and some disposable pads. They were hoping to better understand what impact reusable products can have as part of building long-term solutions. The campaign sought out community organizations who offer support to those demographics that disproportionately experience period poverty in BC: people living with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, and families making less than $40,000 a year. They hoped to get some useful information on participants’ experiences using reusable menstrual products, with the goal that the data will inform future policy changes that address period poverty in BC, and ultimately help to better serve our communities.

Visitors to our low sensory space were thrilled with the free reusable products. We had 1 set of friends who walked and 1 of them said “I’ve been trying to talk her into a menstrual cup the entire walk here and now you have them for free! She has no excuse not to try them now.” Her friend explained that cost was the barrier that had them hesitating. They knew in the long-run they’d save on money but it was trying to get the upfront cost that was a struggle.

The campaign’s only ask was for people, who took the free supplies, to do an online survey. We will share the results when it is released.

The feedback we heard included the following:

• “Based on conversation, the biggest barriers, for our members, are cost, colour, and perception/bias.
• The majority of disabled people live in poverty and buying menstrual products is expensive and ongoing. A big frustration is that in order to save money by buying reusable underwear, you have to have more money up front, which our members do not have. There was a lot of excitement about the underwear and cups being free as they are unaffordable to many members.
• Providing them at events is a great way to aid them having access.
• Colour is a big barrier, even within the products provided in the study. Menstrual products are typically in pinks with flowers or other perceived feminine designs.
• This is a barrier for many trans folks. A person may be male but have a period. They don’t want to carry or use things that may peg them as a gender different to their own. Having menstrual products available in a variety of colours for all genders would be an aid.
• Another barrier is perception and bias. Many people perceive periods, and thus menstrual products, as being for women only. This is untrue. People of all genders have periods and need menstrual products. They may be judged when buying products and/or there may be a lack of menstrual products in the washroom that aligns with their gender. The colours speak of this bias by using feminine perceived colours like pink. Having better education in classes, in bathrooms, and throughout the community would aid to work against these misperceptions and biases.

The Polygon Gallery engaged Heather McCain in providing on-site feedback on the gallery’s “Velvet Terrorism: Pussy Riot’s Russia” exhibition. The Polygon was interested in exploring how to make the exhibition more low sensory friendly for visitors on their low sensory night. This was an interesting consultation opportunity, due to the exhibition’s overwhelming visual, sonic, and physical intensity, and its densely structured maze-like multimedia environment.

The low sensory event was a success. Visitors who require low sensory were glad to find staff prepared and aware of the various ways low sensory spaces can be supported. There was an adjacent room set up as a low sensory space with stim toys, colouring, and quiet. The Pussy Riot exhibition is purposely sensorily overwhelming and Polygon Gallery worked to lower that without affecting the impact of the exhibit. Some visitors also shared that they didn’t think they would be able to last long and instead were able to enjoy the exhibit as much as they wanted. The staff said it was great to hear such immediate, positive feedback.

LET’S started our relationship with The Polygon Gallery in 2021, providing Disability Awareness and Gender & Sexuality workshops and an accessibility audit. We were pleased to see them make immediate improvements, based on our recommendations. The Polygon Gallery also applied for, and received, funding to increase accessibility. Since that time, we have been in regular contact as they continue to learn about accessibility and the needs of the disability and neurodivergent communities. We look forward to our continued relationship.

Several CAN (LET’S) members participated in a discussion of the SWAN (Stakeholder’s Walkability/Wheelability in Neighbourhoods) tool.

This tool was created thought the Canadian Disability Participation Project, with consultation by CAN (LET’S). The CDPP is an alliance of university, public, private and government sector partners working together to enhance community participation among Canadians with physical disabilities.

The SWAN tool allows communities to identify features in the environment that support or cause barriers to the mobility and participation of people using assistive devices.

Cities, such as the City of Burnaby, have been using this tool to do neighbourhood tours and assess where accessibility works and where it needs improvements.

CAN (LET’S) is excited to continue to be part of the development, use, and education regarding the the SWAN tool.

CAN (LET’S) was contacted by a consultant at Cycle BC.

They are working on the Strategic Plan for the next ten years. They are trying to capture as many perspectives as possible.

They noticed that they didn’t have much input from disabled people. They contacted CAN (LET’S) to find out how to make cycling more inclusive.

Their aim is to provide a welcoming and safe community for all people, whether they ride for transportation, enjoyment, or competition.

We had a very good conversation about how to better represent people with disabilities. We will stay in touch.

CAN (LET’S) was 1 of several community organizations who was invited to participate in Scenario Planning Engagement with the City of Vancouver for their plan. This a long-term, strategic and actionable Vancouver Plan – a plan that enables individuals, communities, and future generations to thrive.

About: “Ongoing engagement activities will include work which will be required to describe the 3-4 core scenarios as part of the report for public review. We will ensure that there is sufficient support present at the engagement activities to capture ideas generated through the discussion.”

CAN (LET’S) was asked to speak to the experiences and perspectives of disabled and 2SLGBTQIA+ folk. This engagement meeting was important to amplify the voices of equity-seeking community-based organizations on the Vancouver Plan.

Who was involved: “We are working with a multidisciplinary team of collaborators, including political leaders, planners and technical policy makers. We are drawing upon our experience working with large and diverse bodies of internal and external stakeholders to coordinate the project. As well-informed outsiders with a knowledge of urban issues, resiliency planning and the expectations of policy-makers the goal is to make work inclusive, accurate, unbiased and relevant.”

CAN (LET’S) participated in a key informant interview with BikeMaps.org

BikeMaps.org is a pan-Canadian group of researchers who have an interest in active transportation. They were recently awarded funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada to create a platform that focuses on the pedestrian environment. Their objective is to capture the microscale barriers to walking and rolling through citizen reports on a web-map.

CAN (LET’S) was identified as an organization who could provide valuable information based on our involvement advocating for inclusive active transportation.

Creating Accessible Neighbourhoods (Live Educate Transform Society) participated in a consultation with the Patient & Community Partnership for Education at UBC.

The consultation gathered perspectives from patients and community members on the priority health concerns in British Columbia and how we should be training future physicians to meet theses needs.

The report of the consultation with patients, caregivers and community representatives has now been released. There is also an accompanying video that highlights some of the major issues from the report.

The consultation will inform a review by the medical school at UBC of its social accountability mandate (i.e. the commitment of the medical school to address the health concerns of the populations it has a responsibility to serve). A draft of the report was received by the curriculum review working group at the end of January. It was ‘very positively received’.