If you would have asked me 6 years ago, I would have not predicted that I would develop Community Impact Consulting to reach as many people as it has today. The process has been humbling and certainly a lot of hard work. Most of all, it has been a challenge in balancing my thoughts with my heart and stirring emotions. My own passion tends to get the best of my actions and through more than 20 years of working with communities, I truly appreciate their creativity, resilience and beauty.
The last 12 months have been essentially unknown territory on a global scale. Not only with the massive impact of COVID-19, but also the unbearable grief of racial injustice taking centre stage, and the continuous calls demanding Black liberation and Indigenous sovereignty.
In light of the past year, it has become clear that we must take a step out of our own shoes and show unapologetic empathy for our neighbours. For those who may not seem like us, but have real lives and real problems just as we do. Community care. Treat people like we would want to be treated ourselves.
If there is one thing I have learned from working with different ages, races, cultures, faces, bodies, humans; we are all seeking to be heard, and we must also learn to listen to others. Really listen. The magical thing about the diverse composition that makes every community unique is that they know what they need, as they are navigating their reality everyday. So what can we do? We need to be able to provide the means to self-determine, to build themselves up from the inside, so they no longer have to be dependent on systems that do not support them from the outside.
Systemic oppression depends on us accepting and reinforcing systems that are inherently meant to disadvantage racialized people and women. Those systems disempower us to a point of exhaustion. Yet, something has shifted. The change is here. I see that people are listening well, challenging themselves to move through discomfort because they want to be part of the solution, not the problem. People are fed-up, and rightfully so, with too much suffering and loss from harmful systems. I see a great opportunity for making big, sustainable shifts in social justice, here and now.
As Community Impact Consulting continues our work with people every day, we are encouraged that there are so many inspiring individuals that are taking on these massive, overwhelming challenges one step at a time. We see you. Now, let's remember to hold each other mutually accountable. Great things do come to those who mobilize together.