Are you an Ally?
Anti-Bullying Day started in 2007 with youths who knew how to be allies — they took action that clearly pushed back against the societally accepted norm of adolescent bullying. They stood up and said “not here, not now.” If you aren’t already familiar with the story, it’s an easy Google search away, and well worth the time scrolling time.
So, what does it mean to be an ally? How can you be one? The important thing about being an ally is that it requires action. Sharing messages on social media and wearing pink shirts is good because it helps to shift the public perceptions but if that is all we do, then it won’t really make the change we need to bring more equity and social justice to marginalized people.
If performative allyship is all we practice, change won’t make a difference to the humans that are experiencing bullying, discrimination and racism. Take action now.
KCR Community Resources is an agency that fosters, collaboration and resourcefulness by tailoring services to meet community, family and individual needs and we offer a few avenues for you to be an ally.
The first is the United Against Discrimination portal where you can report incidents of racism and discrimination that you have experienced or witnessed. This helps to accurately reflect back to policy makers what humans are really experiencing in their communities. It also lets these humans know that they are not to blame or responsible for another’s hateful action. For those who have experienced the discrimination, there is an opportunity for access to resources. The reports can be anonymous or not.
We also offer the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion training where participants can learn about what these terms really mean and why they matter so much. The training is available as an in-service workshop for businesses and organizations and is a valuable opportunity to build awareness and understanding at an individual, organizational and societal level.
One of the sections even covers how to be an Active Bystander, a phrase that indicates you are an ally who takes action to support humans that are being harmed. In the training we practice the 3 R’s — Reflect, Respond and Reach-out.
The first step is to Reflect, or asses the situation.
The second step Respond, can be to either Call In or Call Out the person doing the harm.
The third step is to Reach-out to the human harmed to offer support, resources or just to check-in with them. These three simple steps will look different in different spaces and contexts and take some time to practice and feel comfortable doing. But it’s a great step in taking real action and to being an active ally.
To learn more about these programs, go to www.kcr.ca or contact Dorothee at 250-763-8008 x254 and dorothee@kcr.ca.