Inclusion & Accessibility

Our commitment to clients & partners in creating a welcoming environment that celebrates diversity

We recognize that Toronto is located on the traditional territory of many diverse Indigenous nations.

Inclusion and accessibility contribute greatly to the leadership and longevity of Surrey Place. We value and respect the diversity of our clients, families, teams, volunteers, staff and our community partners, ensuring that they all feel welcome. Through our actions, we aim to promote best practices and principles that result in better services, programs, partnerships and client experiences in a safe and healthy environment.

We strive to make equal access and opportunity the norm for our clients and their families. Our staff and volunteers are given comprehensive training to ensure that they understand and meet the needs of clients and communities. Additionally, the organization embeds inclusion and accessibility into all policies, initiatives and plans to encourage underrepresented groups to join and participate at Surrey Place.  

We recognize the systemic barriers that can create unequal conditions that disadvantage vulnerable communities. As an organization that provides services and programs to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, we are determined to keep fighting for better right now and in the future.

Our Commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility

At Surrey Place, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIA) are core to our guiding principles. We are committed to creating a collaborative and inclusive environment that celebrates diversity, eliminates barriers to accessing services and upholds the right to belong.

We embrace and value individuals with diverse identities, backgrounds, cultures, races, and abilities.

Our mission is to deliver culturally sensitive clinical services and empower individuals and families at every stage of their journey. In our mission, we are rooted in respect and empathy, and working towards embedding EDIA practices by building a safe and accepting experience for everyone. We embody these principles in our actions, our curiosity, our collaborative spirit, and the ways in which we are open to varying perspectives. In turn, it has inspired us to approach concepts differently, express ourselves openly, and foster growth.

Surrey Place remains resolute to dismantle barriers of all kinds, creating a representative and inclusive environment for clients, families, staff and our communities, particularly those from underrepresented groups. We are developing awareness, so we can nurture a culture of mutual understanding and shared responsibility for the well-being of our community.

Accessibility Plan

Accessibility is built into everything that Surrey Place does and offers, including our programs, services and initiatives.

As a leading organization that serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, we ensure that all clients can access what they need to meet their needs. Our mission is to remove accessibility barriers and make equal access and opportunity the norm. Please read our Accessibility Plan for more detailed information.

Our Commitment to Anti-Black Racism

We denounce anti-Black racism, violence against the Black community, and the systemic racism and oppression that continues today. At Surrey Place, we are grounded in empowering individuals and their families all throughout their lives. This cannot be achieved if we do not actively work against anti-Black racism and support the communities we serve and the employees we staff.

Our commitment drives us to continually review and enhance policies, processes and practices to fight against anti-Black racism. We are also dedicated to amplifying the voices of the Black community, including staff and clients by listening to and building lived experiences in our work plan and its outputs, including training, education and policies.

In 2021, we formalized our Anti-Racism: Black Cultural Awareness Consulting and Training Group, borne out of the advocacy of Black staff members of Surrey Place. The group provides invaluable direction and feedback to all levels of our staff on best practices for developing anti-Black racism work.

We continue to address and learn about anti-Black racist actions, practices and procedures to better support the Black community members we serve, and the society in which we live.

Land Acknowledgement

Surrey Place is committed to Reconciliation with Indigenous People and in the spirit of greater inclusion and continued allyship and respect and care for the First People of this land, we begin by offering the territorial land acknowledgement.

Toronto

Surrey Place is committed to Reconciliation with Indigenous People and in the spirit of greater inclusion and continued allyship and respect and care for the First People of this land, we begin by offering the territorial land acknowledgement.  

Surrey Place acknowledges that Toronto is located on the traditional territory of many diverse nations. Toronto was originally home to the Haudenosaunee (pronounced hood-en-oh-show-knee), the Wendat and most recently the Mississaugas of the Credit. Toronto is covered by Treaty 13, signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit and Chippewa bands. We also acknowledge that Toronto is home to many diverse First Nations, Métis and Inuit today. 

Optional to include

Toronto derives from the word Tkaronto an Iroquoian or Mohawk word for “The Place Where Trees Stand in Water.” Today, Toronto is home to an estimated 70,000 Indigenous people.

Sioux Lookout

Surrey Place is committed to Reconciliation with Indigenous People and in the spirit of greater inclusion and continued allyship and respect and care for the First People of this land, we begin by offering the territorial land acknowledgement.

Surrey Place acknowledges that Sioux Lookout is on the traditional lands of the First Nations of the Anishinaabe, pronounced a-ni-shi-naw-bay, people of Lac Seul First Nation. We acknowledge that this territory is covered by Treaty #3, and we pay our care and respect to the survivors of residential schools, their children and any of those who have not survived the effects of the schools.

Optional to include

It is said that Sioux Lookout’s name comes from a nearby mountain, which in the late 1700s was used by the Anishinaabe to watch for foes. Today, Sioux Lookout is home to an estimated 6,000+ Indigenous people.