Roots of Return CIC
Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Statement
Roots of Return CIC Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement
Roots of Return CIC aims to be inclusive of all people and their intersecting identities. As an Organisation we want to be reflective of our diverse society and to provide services that are person and community centred and accessible for all, including the nine protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010 and embodying our core values.
As an Organisation and community, we know that this is not something that can be achieved overnight, but is rather an ongoing practice of reflection, learning and action. We welcome the messiness of this process and give ourselves permission to take time with this learning. We commit to learning from the communities we serve as well as to ongoing training and reflection.
At Roots of Return CIC, we believe that equality means dismantling oppressive power dynamics and structures, eliminating unlawful discrimination and ensuring equal opportunity and access to employment and to the person centred services we provide in the community. We recognise and celebrate diversity amongst our team and service users. Our policy is to ensure that no member of of our team, volunteer or service users receive less favourable treatment on the grounds of ethnicity, faith/religion, age, gender identity, marital/civil partnership status, sexual orientation, disability, maternity or pregnancy, or that they are disadvantaged by conditions or requirements that cannot be shown as justifiable. Roots of Return CIC adheres to current Equalities legislation and other legislation around the Gender and Equality Duty and CEDAW.
Racism and Diversity
Roots of Return CIC is committed to actively and on-goingly doing what it takes to not be silent and/or complicit in systemic racism and unconscious bias. We are aware of the white privilege we hold as a team and that we still have unconscious bias and ignorance in this issues. We are also aware that the therapeutic and personal development world is largely dominated by white privilege. We are committed to changing this and we recognise that change cannot happen if only part of the whole is represented and voiced in the community spaces that we hold.
We also recognise that Black indigenous people of colour (BIPOC) may not have the financial resources that white privilege gives and we would not want any BIPOC to be prevented from attending our events. Where possible we aim to make our services financially accessible for BIPOC.
We are aware that we can always do more and that it’s a lifetime work.
Things we are doing on an ongoing basis include:
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Continually educating ourselves and staying aware of the issue
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Offering financial support when we can for BIPOC to attend services that we run.
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Aiming to make our circles and workshops more diverse.
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Developing long-term infrastructure to ensure we’re an anti-racist organisation.
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Working with Me and White Supremacy workbook by Layla Saad
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Working with Resmaa Menakem– my Grandmothers hands
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Speaking up on behalf of POC when it arises either in our workshop or in life.
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Attending diversity workshops to continue to learn
LGBTQ+
Roots of Return CIC celebrates and honours diversity. We believe that every human being has the right to choose how they identify and express themselves as an individual regardless of the gender they were assigned at birth. We welcome LGTBQ+ people to our services and offer various events in our program that are suitable for everyone regardless of gender, sexual expression, or identity.
Where possible we operate an 'inclusivity first' policy. That is, we aim to offer services and events that are as inclusive as possible. However, there may be occasions where it is in the best interests of the groups that we serve to clearly define membership. We believe that the best choices about inclusion depend upon the intended purpose and outcomes of the service. For example, for women meeting to share experiences of oppression as women, it is appropriate for this group to be formed of self-identifying women. Our intention is always to make the best choice that services the needs and nurture of the group. Please contact us if you would like more clarity or to know which services are appropriate for you.
Masculine and Feminine
We use the language of ‘Feminine and Masculine’ in some of our work as a way to point to energetic forces existing in all life including humans regardless of our gender or sexual expression. We understand that these 2 words can have a strong historical cultural connotation and association of a binary view of life. This is not how we use them and we understand that there are more than 2 forces at play in the universe. As Uma Dinsmore Tuli says, "beneath all of our life experiences mediated through gendered identity, every being dances to the powerful rhythms of the cycles of life that connect us all".
As a Team
We do not set ourselves up to pretend to know or understand what it might be like for a person who does not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth or the cultural norm. We also do not present ourselves as experienced facilitators for non-binary people and what they may need in terms of support. Instead we come with a willingness, a welcoming, a desire to support, a listening and humility to learn and to embrace change.
We are open to helping if we can and learning as we go. We are always doing our best to meet the different needs of people while recognising our own limitations.
Disability
Physical disability
We do our best to include and work with physical disability, both visible and invisible. Where possible we choose venues which are accessible for those with physical disabilities.
Non Physical Disability and Neurodiversity
We operate a 'inclusivity first' policy. At the same time we recognise that we may not have the right skills, experience or qualifications to support some people. Do please contact us if you have a question and we will always be honest about what we can do to support you and what we feel we cannot do. We believe it would be irresponsible as facilitators to offer you our work if we do not have the experience or understanding needed to give you the right support you need.
Mental Health accessibility
The services we offer may not suitable for people who experience any of the following: for people taking prescribed medications such as anti-psychotics, or medications for more extreme ADHD/ADD and bipolar disorder. If you have any questions do please feel welcome to contact us and help us to understand more about your personal needs.
Trauma informed
We are constantly learning and exploring ways we can be more informed about the impact of personal trauma in group settings and doing what we can to give people an experience of choice moment to moment. To also recognise what work might be appropriate to do in the context of a group and what is not.
We always aim for any exercises we do together to be an invitation rather than a request so that you can be in choice about what you participate in. This way the work you do with us is transformative and not re-traumatising. Our work may be not suitable for people who are currently working with extreme trauma and we encourage you to first explore one to one work before attending our group services.