A hand holds up a sign that reads “Together we rise”.
As part of our Ontario Health Team’s (OHT) commitment to addressing systemic racism and health inequities across the health, social and community care systems, we’ve engaged the work of Anu Radha Verma (she/her) and Gitanjali Lena (they/them), two independent consultants, who will be supporting East Toronto Health Partners’ (ETHP) Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and anti-racism work over the course of 2023.
Anu Radha and Gitanjali will work closely with our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion/Anti-Racism Committee and other groups across our OHT to facilitate collaborative work that focuses on these areas:
- Building a strategy for training to address anti-Black racism and anti-Indigenous racism
- Supporting the development of a community of practice where people doing EDI work can come together to learn and share
- Engaging community members and partners to develop an equity-informed data collection and data governance strategy
- Developing a three-year anti-racism and equity framework
As part of this work, Anu Radha and Gitanjali would like to hear from people who live and get care in East Toronto about what equity, diversity and inclusion mean to you!
As someone who lives and/or gets care in East Toronto, your feedback is extremely valuable in helping to ensure our OHT’s work makes a meaningful difference in the lives of those who use and interact with the local health, social and community care system.
We welcome you to share the survey with your friends and family in East Toronto. The survey closes on March 26, 2023 at 11:59 p.m.
About Anu Radha Verma
Anu Radha is a community-based consultant with over 14 years of experience with health, community and social services organizations. Over the past 12 years, she has been deeply engaged in the healthcare sector with a focus on health equity – this has ranged from health promotion, equity in governance, research, organizational change and more. She’s been a staff member, a Board Chair, a grassroots organizer and a consultant, supporting the transformational change needed to address inequities. Anu Radha is queer, Punjabi, mad-identified and neurodivergent. She loves crosswords and being a disrupter.
About Gitanjali Lena
Gitanjali is an equity and justice consultant with Sri Lankan ancestry, and formal training in health law, 2SLGBTQIA+ youth mental health and human rights law, among other things. Gitanjali was the Executive Director of LGBT Youth Line for three years and has worked in numerous project coordination and project manager roles in the GTA, including several ETHP partner agencies. They love working with community networks and healthcare providers to support system transformation. Gitanjali comes from a family of healthcare providers. They are a proud Amma and aunty, as well as being a playwright, musician and poet.
To get in touch with Anu Radha and Gitanjali, you can contact them at this confidential e-mail: equityETHP@proton.me.