By Melissa Turner

I have been a student with Community Living Toronto, working with the Diversity Coordinator, Ilaneet Goren, for the past eight months. As my placement is coming to an end, I wanted to reflect on the connections I have seen between diversity and person directed planning. I have had the opportunity to sit in on a Person Directed Plan and participate in facilitation training. As a social work student with a focus on equity and diversity, I think planning is a great example of how equity fits into everything we do at Community Living Toronto.

A person directed plan allows an individual to develop their own life goals while recognizing their strengths and rights. Plans are led by individuals and they decide what is most important, while family and friends are invited to learn about an individual’s hopes and dreams. To bring an equity and diversity lens to planning means to recognize the multiple identities an individual has, and how those are significant in their hopes and dreams.

At the beginning of a plan, the individual has the opportunity to tell their story. In my experience, this has been a great way for the individual to highlight the parts of their past which they are particularly proud of, or which they want to be acknowledged by the participants. This allows people to discuss aspects of their lives that are important to them. The story part of the plan should include experiences that allow the person to feel that their unique individuality is represented in the plan.

After telling their story, individuals take time to talk about their positive qualities and valued roles in their communities. This allows people to consider, for example, how funny or artistic they are, acknowledge their role as a good sister, or mention how they volunteer every week at an animal shelter. It is in this section that I think staff should ask a few more questions: Are there any communities or groups you belong to or like to spend time with that you want recognized? What cultural holidays or events do you participate in? These questions would allow individuals to talk about being part of the LGBTQ+ community, their attendance at spiritual events, their membership in the Jamaican Canadian Association, or their women’s group.

The different parts of themselves that an individual chooses to share emphasize their importance in the planning process, making such aspects as culture, faith, gender, sexual orientation and racial identity visible. When we take the time to write or draw what has been shared, we are helping create an inclusive environment by confirming to everyone participating in the plan that those aspects are important to the individual. To do this would mean to see beyond the narrow label of “disability”, and instead seeing the person as a whole.