For the LOVE of community
Love isn’t a word we use in professional work spaces often. I remember my surprise and delight when one of our esteemed community partners, Family Transition Place used this word and concept as one of their strategic pillars in their plan a few years ago. This was unheard of! But it is also groundbreaking and a reclamation of the word LOVE in professional and human services fields. I am forever thankful we have mentors in our community that can use the word love appropriately, wholistically and respectfully with their clients. We aim to do the same at Branching Out Support Services Inc.
At BOSS we often say, “We LOVE our community!” And we do. Our passion, drive and innovation stem from a deep commitment, respect and sense of social justice we have in Dufferin County and beyond. Last month we blogged about how important it is to “walk the walk” as well as “talk the talk”. Our new “walk” is a brand new comprehensive and impressive mental health and wellness service for neurodivergent people and their chosen circles of support.
It’s also how we can say to the community: We love you – and we want you to love yourself too.
There are a number of mental health campaigns that come and go with different levels of community engagement and tokenism. Bell “Let’s Talk Day” makes a gross assumption that everyone CAN talk. At BOSS we have a much more comprehensive attitude around people who have complex communication styles or are non/un-reliably speaking. These people deserve mental health services as well – we all do – regardless of our communication style or presentation.
In our research, surveys and feedback from people with lived experience we heard that mental health services need to grasp communication differences, specific barriers and challenges that neurodiverse people and their care teams have encountered. We also understood that we need constructs to consider how differing brains process and connect. Therefore, we have a number of neurodiverse/disabled practitioners that understand these support needs.
This service is an act of love to our neurodiverse community and beyond. If you feel like you don’t “fit” in traditional talk therapy, if you have been traumatized by behavioral therapies in the past or have other unique communication needs – we are here for you. We have a strong dedication to connecting with people and empowering them in their own therapeutic process, not forcing behavioral changes so they appear or can act “less disabled’.
As a message of love, we want our community to hear this: Neurodiversity and disability are normal and expected variations in human form and evolution. Neurodiversity has strength and challenge and we are here to help you navigate both. From mental health check-ins to neurodiversity coaching, trauma informed care and counselling to addictions support we might have a service for you.
Welcome to a new, and loving pathway to mental health and wellness – a path we all walk in our lifetimes regardless of the differences we may have neurologically. Now, for the first time ever we have guides on the path that are just for neurodiverse brains and the people who support and circle around you.
In loving kindness and community,
Kim and The Mental Health and Wellness Practitioners
