Equity-Mobilizing Partnerships in Community (EMPaCT)

My name is Fatah and I am a young person who identifies as Muslim, Black, and ethnically Somali. I was raised in Scarborough and still reside in the east-end of the GTA. I have experience living amongst immigrant and racialized communities and have grown up seeing economic disparities and disparities in access to health.

I advocate for mental health care, health equity, issues impacting youth, and upward social mobility for the communities I come from and live alongside.

Emily Cordeaux

I am a white 30-something woman with Scottish and English roots who calls Toronto home. My parents moved to Canada the year before I was born, and my siblings and I grew up in Montreal and Toronto. I am motivated by loved ones’ experiences navigating the healthcare system for complex and chronic health conditions and mental health concerns.

I advocate for a healthcare system that centres the needs of everyone and promotes health and wellbeing.

Ryan Hinds

My life experiences allow me to bring the perspective of a newcomer to Toronto and challenges shared by many inexperienced with navigating Canadian systems. I also bring experience as a caregiver to elder loved ones, supporting them through home care and various other health care services. Guyanese born, I’m also able to share my experience living, learning and working in Toronto as a Black male and will continue to advocate for equity and social justice in all discussions.

Tara Jeji

I advocate for equal access for all individuals to enable community participation and citizenship.

Omar Khan

I am an organizer and advocate working with underserved communities, specifically refugees and refugee claimants. I connect with families all across the GTA and work primarily in the Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park area.

I advocate for residents and agency employees. I coordinate a resident-lead group called Engaged Communities that focuses on youth development, mobilizing and amplifying community voices, particularly youth and newcomer voices. I am also a caregiver for my mom who has an autoimmune brain condition. This has inspired me to advocate for caregivers too.

Bee Lee Soh

In the eighties, I came to Canada alone as a visa student with no English. Then I became an immigrant after working as a live in nanny/ domestic housekeeping job under the immigration caregiver program. And finally rooted as a Canadian citizen with no regrets.

The life journey in Canada is bitter and sweet! New bonds friendships, churches and communities cares, unexpected adopted parents…discrimination, inequity, injustice…poverty, homeless, hunger…has paved latter part of my life as an anti-poverty activist, fighting to have policy/ systemic changes to make peoples lives better!

Alies Maybee

I grew up in Quebec with a Dutch mother, and an English Canadian father who died when I was 12. I have two birth sons, a chosen son who came to us as a 16 year old refugee from Sudan and four grandchildren. I took care of my mother who died a few years ago of dementia in the Netherlands.

I advocate for changing health systems and information to centre on the person and for inclusive patient/public engagement so that our health system can serve all people fairly.

Desiree Mensah

I was raised by a single mother who had recently immigrated to Canada from Ghana. As a first-generation child, I have seen the difficulties of transitioning into Canadian culture/workforce and the struggles of raising a family on a single income. I am a black woman and a member of the invisible disability community.

I am a proud advocate of providing equitable health services especially for lower socioeconomic communities. I hope to continue to provide awareness on racism, feminism, sexual assault, systemic inequalities, mental health and well being.

Linda Monteith Gardiner

I am a woman and a senior who lives with schizoaffective disorder. I became ill in my teens and spent years trying to find help in the siloed and disjointed mental health system in Ontario. I now spend my days promoting understanding and support for those with psychotic illnesses.

A veteran of the mental health system in Ontario, I advocate better and more timely mental health services in addition to the right to literacy for all.

Mursal Musawi

I am a woman from a minority religion. I came to Canada from a country where women and children are the most vulnerable population. I am a human rights especially women and children's rights defender. I advocate for women empowerment, gender equity & gender equality.

I want to make sure that everyone has access to high-quality services in an equitable manner without any decimation and abuse.

Mar Rathbone

I am a middle-aged, indigenous woman. My reserve is the Crees of Waskaganish First Nations. I was a part of the Sixties Scoop when indigenous people were taken away from their families and raised in non-indigenous homes. I worked at Anishnawbe Health as an outreach worker.

I advocate for eliminating racism and discrimination towards all races and cultures. I am a promoter of showing love and kindness towards all people. I believe in equality for all people because we are all unique in our own ways, and we all have something special to offer the world.

Jill Robinson

I am a black woman of mixed heritage and culture. I am a single parent to a transgender daughter who lives on the spectrum and caregiver to her and my 91 year old mother who suffers from many ailments.

I advocate for social responsibility and I want to make sure that the healthcare system in Ontario and Canada works for everyone.

Ambreen Sayani

I am woman, person of colour and from a religious minority. I moved to Canada in 2014 with two young kids and aging parents. I am often sandwiched between caring for both of these generations as their health, social and emotional needs are different yet intertwined.

I advocate for fairness and equity – all of us need access to the right resources, tools and opportunities so that we can thrive and live a healthy life.

Staceyan Sterling

I am a black female, mother, spouse, life-long learner, servant leader, immigrant, and Canadian. I have lived in Toronto Canada most of my life and enjoy telling new Canadians about their roots that made this country. Grade 6 was my life-defining year. It’s the year I noticed a child’s physical response to learning, the year I found and read little Anne Frank’s diary and wept alone in the back corners of the library, overwhelmed at the extent of evil and injustice in this world. I decide there and then that one has the choice to be a destroyer or a healer. I chose the latter, and have lived a life of service, love, joy, peace, and advocacy.

Dean Wardak

I was born on July 18, 1992 in Toronto. I have Filipino, Polish and Canadian-Indigenous heritage. I am a quadriplegic due to a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) suffered in a motor vehicle accident. I spent a year recovering in three different hospitals after my accident.

I advocate for people living with disabilities because I experience the issues with accessibility, discrimination, social support, transportation, employment and more.