Youville Centre is well down a road to create an environment that is based on anti-oppressive, anti-racist and reconciliation principles. Their staff and their patients have begun to notice and remark on the changes, which have arrived after a decade of work by staff from the St. Vital and St. Boniface locations.
“I’ve been here eight years, and there was work happening long before I arrived,” shares Toni Tilston-Jones, Executive Director of Youville Centre. “We embarked on a journey together where we were able to look at the organization as a whole, our structures and policies, and pick those apart. We had to deconstruct them so that we could rebuild them.”
One of the keys to moving towards a more welcoming and safe space for all people, regardless of gender, race or experience, is the dedicated staff time provided by Emeka Ezeh, Coordinator for Reconciliation and Equity Development. “What we know is that before we can truly carry out reconciliation, before we can really start to walk in a good way in our communities, we have to be intentional,” he shares. “We have to start with transparency and accountability. If we lack those two things, we’re not starting in a good place.”
Tilston-Jones shares that becoming anti-oppressive in a society and a health care system that is still rooted in colonial ideals requires a lot of flexibility and patience. “You feel like maybe you’re making some progress, then something in the system changes,” she explains. “So we have to make sure that we’re looking at changes across all areas, because you have to keep an eye out for spaces where you can make inroads or where we could have a bit more control over how things run.”
From a practical sense, the work to transform the way Youville Centre runs and welcomes their patients has involved a lot of conversations with staff and community, as well as concrete administrative changes to reflect those consultations. “One of the things I am proudest of is how much we have grown in our ability to have uncomfortable conversations,” shares Ezeh. “We’re more engaged as a group, more willing to contribute, more willing to listen. These topics and conversations aren’t easy. This is a marathon, not a sprint, but we’re heading in the right direction.”
Tilston-Jones agrees that while it can be difficult work, it’s necessary work. “When we do this right, it becomes the core of what we do and how we do it,” she explains. “Once you have that established, you know it was tiring, but then you turn a corner. The energy and momentum start to shift: staff are engaged, you see a more diverse staff, people are interacting differently with community. Staff have started to challenge themselves, and to ask new and different questions about how we do our work. It has been good heart medicine to watch those shifts happen.”
The community is noticing a shift, as well. “People who are served at Youville won’t necessarily use the same language we might use to explain cultural safety or reconciliation,” explains Denise Belanger, a consultant who has evaluated the impact of the anti-oppression work at Youville Centre. “That said, three themes were very clear: people felt welcomed, they felt respect and they felt that someone was actually listening to them. That’s safety.”
Tilston-Jones agrees. “I have contact with folks who use our services, who have been systematically oppressed and harmed by systems,” she concludes. “They tell me that here, someone understood them, was patient with them, or walked alongside them. I had someone tell me that we were the place that kept them alive. It is possible to do this work, to make these changes. We can become a very important community partner when people feel safe and their voices matter.”