Statement of Commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

We wish to acknowledge that wherever we are in North America, we are living on land that has been inhabited and held sacred by Indigenous peoples for millenia. We wish to acknowledge their stewardship of this land and waterways. As newcomers and settlers, we offer our gratitude for their care of this land.

We acknowledge that The Space Within sits on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, the Haudensaunee Confederacy, the Wendat, and the Neutrals, who share their ancestral lands with us under The Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant and the Huron Tract Treaty.

We recognize and deeply appreciate their historic connection to this place. We also recognize the contributions of Métis, Inuit, and other Indigenous peoples have made, both in shaping and strengthening this community in particular, and our province and country as a whole.

As a private practice that offers mental health and wellness services, we are committed to listening, learning and growing so all of those associated with The Space Within reflect, include, and serve the needs of a diverse community, inclusive of people of all ethnicities, all cultures and all sexual orientations and genders. We are aware of how the mental and medical health care fields were informed and influenced by the history of colonization and white oppression. As practitioners, it is our commitment to continue to seek training in both personal and professional development in anti-oppressive and trauma-informed practices.

We welcome and invite Indigenous, Black, People of Colour and the 2SLGBTQ+ communities who work in healing practices, to consider practicing in our space or as an affiliate. We support those trained in complimentary and traditional healing practices.

Our team includes those of diverse lived experiences, including queer and queer-informed, who work with a breadth of health concerns. We address barriers as best we can by offering virtual access to services and sliding scaled fees when possible. The Space Within was chosen to be the site for The Wendy Shaw Fund, now funded by Optimism Place. This fund covers the cost of mental health therapy for women (including trans women), and non-binary individuals, who are survivors of violence, abuse, and trauma.
We regret we cannot offer full accessibility to our physical office space as we rent offices on the upper floor of an historic building without an elevator or stair assist. At times, our practitioners can arrange to access other spaces in the community to accommodate clients’ mobility needs.