A Placement Reflection
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Hello everyone,
I hope you are all doing well!
It has been a great learning experience working as a Field Placement Student at Family Councils Ontario from January to April 2021.
I gained an understanding of Family Councils that consist of families and friends of residents that support and make recommendations to Long-Term Care Homes.
I’m grateful for the student projects from Family Council Ontario that reflected on diversity and inclusion in connection to Family Councils and Long-Term Care Homes.
While working on projects, I felt I was an outsider for not having lived experiences in Long-Term Care Homes. I was using an anti-oppression lens when reading the research articles on the exposure of Long-Term Care Homes that transcribed the experiences of residents, families, and staff. Everyone had different identities that created their perspectives and experiences in Long-Term Care Homes from Canada and the U.S. For example, 2SLGBTQ residents shared experiences of stigmatization and wanting to have a welcoming environment within their Long-Term Care Home. There is no general statement that can describe the culture and needed improvements for all long-term care homes.
I wanted to learn more from the Ontario context on diversity and inclusion by creating a survey for stakeholders from Family Councils and Long-Term Care Homes across Ontario. There were responses on diverse experiences and input on what tools should be created to have inclusivity within Family Councils and Long-Term Care Homes in Ontario. For example, we had suggestions on land acknowledgement and cultural celebrations. Thank you to everyone who shared their perspectives on inclusion and diversity in the survey!
I wanted to apply everyone’s concerns and recommendations from the survey onto a toolkit to support Family Councils and Long-Term Care Homes to create a diverse and inclusive space. I hope you see the finished toolkit soon!
I appreciate the feedback from my supervisors, Tiffany and Cathleen on all of my projects that helped me gain insight into Family Councils and Long-Term Care Homes.
Thank you for reading my post!
Sincerely,
A Social Work Student