Scoping Statement and Purpose

The Community of Care is intentionally structured as a dedicated counter-space to combat the burnout, isolation, and mental health strain that comes from navigating institutional whiteness, opposition, and systemic oppression. Rather than imposing a top-down curriculum, the environment is collaboratively co-designed with participants through collective brainstorming, ensuring that topics directly reflect their real-time challenges while empowering practitioners, community members, and cultural knowledge-keepers to lead sessions using their own expertise. Moving beyond standard professional workshops, the space prioritizes somatic healing, ancestral traditions, rest, and artistic expression. By reconnecting mind, body, and spirit, the initiative treats cultural grounding, emotional unburdening, and shared joy not as side benefits, but as essential tools for collective liberation and sustainable systems change.

“The Community of Care (CoC) for Black, Indigenous, and Racialized Equity Practitioners was established to address the mental health impacts of institutional racism on those leading anti-racism work in Edmonton. Over the past year, the project provided a vital space for 14 active practitioners to strengthen their capacity and sustain their engagement in building an equitable city.”

Alignment with CFRAC: Initiated in 2023, the project directly supports CFRAC’s mandate to build sustainable anti-racism infrastructure by moving beyond individual burnout toward systemic community care. It provides a co-designed environment for BIPOC equity leaders to heal from racial harm, troubleshoot systemic barriers, celebrate collective milestones, and build collaborative solidarity across Edmonton’s public and non-profit sectors.

“I learned to allow myself a moment of self-care, to replenish myself so I am not overwhelmed. I also learned that I do not have to carry all oppressive systems’ burdens and to honour myself, to listen to my body and to not feel compelled to do anything under duress and rather to share what resonates with my whole being and lived experiences.”

Sessions Held:

• Breaking of Bread Ceremony: Communal cooking and meal-sharing led by Caribbean chef Luther Edwards to establish relational trust and introduce participants in a warm, welcoming setting.
• Community Agreements & Sustaining Joy: Establishing collective norms rooted in safety, non-judgmental co-learning, and the intentional practice of joy.
• Creative Storytelling & Solidarity: Narrative and creative writing workshops led by Poet Laureate Nisha Patel exploring Black solidarity and personal narrative.
• Embodied & Somatic Liberation:
  • Trinidadian Folk Dance: Movement sessions with Cherelle George to reconnect with the body, ground identity, and release physical stress.
  • African Ancestral Drumming: Modalities led by Eric Awuah (Apam Cultural Consult) examining ancestral rhythms as tools for healing and resistance.
  • Soundbath Therapy: Guided sound frequency sessions led by a CoC member to release heavy emotional and energetic burdens held in the body.
• Joyful & Restorative Accountability: Facilitating sessions adapted from Jovida Ross and Weyam Ghadbian to practice mutual accountability while protecting space for joy and care.
• Arts-Based Systems Mapping: Collage mapping sessions using the poetry of adrienne maree brown to physically and visually conceptualize complex systems transformation.
• Beading Circles & Equity Problem-Solving: A traditional beading circle guided by Merlin Uwalaka providing a grounding container to troubleshoot active equity challenges and workplace barriers.
• Seasonal & Indigenous Rhythms: Aligning professional workloads, rest, and renewal cycles with Earth Mother’s natural seasons and Indigenous knowledge frameworks.
• Two-Spirit & Intersectional Research Perspectives: Critical dialogues led by KD King on the historical and structural reasons for Two-Spirit under-representation in community research.
• Practitioner Well-Being & Navigating Whiteness: Strategy and resilience workshops led by Reena Samra (Founder of BIPOC Healing and Wellness Centre) focusing on boundary-setting, coping mechanisms, and managing the emotional labor of equity work.

Learnings from the Project

Participants consistently described the Community of Care as a “life-giving” environment that successfully broke down the deep professional isolation inherent in anti-racism, equity, and reconciliation work. By centering psychological, emotional, and cultural safety, the space enabled practitioners to show up as their whole selves without the exhaustion of code-switching or navigating the expectations of whiteness. Attendees formed deep relational bonds, reflecting that the space felt like “the therapy I didn’t know I needed” and fostered an environment where they felt safe enough to express vulnerability and emotion openly. Furthermore, the initiative functioned as an invaluable intergenerational knowledge hub, pairing organic mentorship and ancestral wisdom from community Elders with the energy of emerging leaders, while enabling cross-sector peer exchange of practical tools for systems transformation.

Future Steps

Moving forward, CFRAC is actively pursuing alternative, long-term funding sources to sustain and nurture this essential space for Edmonton’s BIPOC practitioners. Future iterations will focus on intentional, slow-paced growth to protect existing trust while introducing targeted capacity-building workshops on trauma-informed facilitation and navigating the emotional labor of equity work. Additionally, the project aims to integrate dedicated access to Elders, spiritual healers, and culturally grounded mental health practitioners, while exploring open educational sessions tailored for organizational leadership and workplace allies to foster greater institutional buy-in and protect dedicated time for staff participation.