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A message to the GCA’s staff, clients and partners regarding Anti-Black Racism.

Jun 19, 2020
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A message to the GCA’s staff, clients and partners regarding Anti-Black Racism.
 
Our vision of successful community inclusion is ever more important at this time.  At the Geneva Centre for Autism, we have and will continue to advocate change necessary to empower individuals with ASD and their families to fully participate in their communities.  As we reflect over the recent acts of violence and activism, we too stand united and seek change.  
 
We preserve a zero-tolerance towards racism of any kind and recognize that in order for us to achieve our goals, we must fully understand (learn and un-learn) the impact of these barriers.
 
Moving forward the Geneva Centre for Autism is committed to the following actions in support of our staff, clients and communities we serve: 
 
  1. We will implement leadership training on Anti-Racism to support our leaders in understanding racism against Black people, Indigenous people and people of colour so that they can facilitate these conversations with their staff. 
  2. We will also implement Anti-Racism and Allyship training to all staff to help us understand contributing factors to racism and impacts.
  3. We will be inviting experts in the field of Diversity and Inclusion to not only educate our team but to start the dialogue.  
  4. These conversations will pave the way to the GCA launching an Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Action Committee.    
In addition, we have begun a comprehensive review of our internal policies and practices and will seek guidance and support from the committee. We will also create a page on our website to keep our community and staff informed on our progress since this work will take time.
 
Removing barriers and eradicating biases (both conscious and unconscious) in how we deliver our program and services will fully enable us to achieve our mission and vision in times of necessity and needed change.  We are excited to start this work and feel greatly supported by our staff and clients.
 
Thank you for your continued support.