What's Brewing Chatham-Kent? Newcomer Network

New to Chatham-Kent? Look no further! There are numerous organizations and individuals ready to help newcomers adjust to the community. Whether you are a newcomer to Chatham-Kent, Ontario, or Canada, we are here to welcome you!

Come join us at our monthly events to connect, make new acquaintances, and discover all that Chatham-Kent has in store for you!

One free non-alcoholic beverage included. Sponsored by United Way. Opportunities to win fun prizes!

At Turns & Tales, 213 King Street, Chatham.

Wednesday, May 22nd from 6:00PM - 8:00PM. Sponsored by United Way of Chatham-Kent, Ska:Na Family Learning Centre, Thamesview Family Health Team, Living CK, and CK Public Health.

Contact info@uwock.ca for more information.

Wednesday, May 22, 12:10-1:00PM

PABC 224 or Teams (Hybrid)

Please register ahead by contacting Rebecca DEIJ@chatham-kent.ca or x. 2447

Light snacks provided. Please bring a lunch if you would like.

It can be difficult to tell fact from fiction when it comes to conversations and media coverage about 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. Join members of the Lambton Kent District School Board's Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Justice team to learn the facts about 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and human-rights based approaches to equity and inclusion.

Open to all municipal employees.

Send questions in advance anonymously through the DEIJ Employee Portal.

Click on the image above to download the May calendar of dates important to communities in Chatham-Kent. Click on the text in the calendar to learn more about each date.

If you are printing the calendar, please print on Legal size paper.

If you are sharing with partners, please use our external website version.

Please contact us if you notice dates missing or errors DEIJ@chatham-kent.ca or x. 2447

If you are planning an event for Cinco de Mayo, please review our resource about respectful Cinco de Mayo celebrations.

Community Events:

You may want to participate in community events related to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice:

• May 3-5 there are community events in honour of National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people. Learn more on the DEIJ Employee Portal.
• May 29 the Accessibility Advisory Committee is encouraging people to wear red for Easter Seal’s Red Shirt Day of Action for Accessibility and Inclusion.

We post information about community events throughout the month in the 'Engage' section of the DEIJ Employee Portal.

How to Use the DEIJ Calendar

Use this calendar to inform programming, scheduling, and to better understand colleagues and communities we serve.

Other ways to use this calendar:

• Avoid scheduling events (for staff or community) on days important to communities in CK to ensure everyone can participate and show respect for each other.
• Supervisors: People may ask for time off or for flexibility to honour some of these dates. Employers have a duty to accommodate employee's creed to the point of undue hardship, including providing time off for religious holidays. Learn more from the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

Remember that outside of these holidays, people may have regular prayer or reflection practices. For example, Friday afternoons are a significant time of prayer for some people of Muslim faith.

We encourage you to get to know your team - find out what days and holidays are important to each other, if and how these days should be acknowledged.

Outlook Calendar

Did you know you can access more information about each date through a DEIJ Outlook calendar?

To get access to the calendar, email DEIJ@chatham-kent.ca or call x. 2447

The Sikh Community of Chatham-Kent invites the community to the celebration of the 325th Khalsa Sajna Diwas and the first Nagar Kirtan (Sikh Religious Parade) in CK.

The event is April 28, 2024, from 10 am – 2 pm.

The parade starts at Gurdwara Sikh Lehar International (210 King St. E. Chatham) at 10 am. The Sangat will travel along King Street, turning right on William Street and into Tecumseh Park for more celebrations until 2 pm.

Learn about Nagar Kirtan (Sikh Religious Parades)
Etiquette tips from Learn Religion (article). The root of the parades from Basics of Sikhi on YouTube (video).

Learn about Khalsa Sajna Diwas and Vaisakhi

World Sikh Organization (article) or Basics of Sihki on YouTube (video).

In honour of National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people, several events will be held March 3-5 in Chatham-Kent.

All events are open to everyone.

Wear red to show your support (i.e. shirt, coat, pin - not a red dress).

About The National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQI+ People

Also called Red Dress Day, the day honours and brings awareness to the disproportionate violence that Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people face in Canada.

The red dress was inspired by Métis artist Jaime Black’s REDress Project, in which she hung empty, red dresses to represent the missing and murdered women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people.

The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people found that, in Canada:

• Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit people are 12x more likely to go missing or be murdered than all other women, and 16x more likely than Caucasian women.
• In the last 30 years, more than 4000 Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirit people have gone missing or been murdered. That’s about 133 a year or 3 a week.
• Because of persistent forms of oppression (racism, colonialism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism), complaints about missing Indigenous Women, Girls, and Women, are less likely to be taken seriously or followed up.

The National Inquiry led to 231 Calls for Justice directed at governments, institutions, social service providers, industries, and all Canadians.

Supports

This day may be triggering for some people. Help is available.

National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls toll-free support phone line (24/7) 1-844-413-6649

Hope for Wellness Help Line (24/7) 1-855-242-3310

Learn More

Read the final report and Calls for Justice from the MMIWG2S+ National Inquiry on the National Inquiry website

Visit the National Family and Survivors Circle website

Visit the Amnesty International No More Stolen Sisters website

Find book, video and podcast recommendations on Simon Fraser University’s website

Learning about, understanding, and appreciating cultures that are different than our own is an important part of promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice.

As we approach Cinco de Mayo, an important day in Mexican history, we are sharing recommendations to ensure events acknowledging the day are rooted in cultural appreciation.

Click on the image below to view the resource.

Please reach out to Rebecca, Coordinator, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice, if you have questions, comments, or feedback on the resource or questions about an event you are planning DEIJ@chatham-kent.ca or x. 2447.

Monday, April 22, 12:10-1:00PM

PABC 224 or Teams (Hybrid)

Please register ahead by contacting Rebecca DEIJ@chatham-kent.ca or x. 2447

Light snacks provided. Please bring a lunch if you would like.

The Municipality of Chatham-Kent is growing due to immigration. As more people move to Chatham-Kent, join colleagues with lived experiences and from Community Attraction and Promotion to learn about LivingCK resources and how to be supportive of newcomers to Chatham-Kent in the workplace and community.

Open to all municipal employees.

Panelists:

Çağla, Waste Management

Chuda, Employment and Social Services

Melissa, Employment and Social Services

Nissam, Information Technology and Transformation

Olamide, CK Public Health

Teresa, Community Attraction and Promotion

March is Nutrition Month and we can't talk about that without also talking about Food Insecurity.

1 in 5 households in Chatham-Kent do not have enough money to buy food. That's 20% of the community who must decide between paying their bills or buying food.

The 2023 Cost of Eating Infographic shows the monthly cost of eating in CK and the numbers show that current social assistance programs are not enough.

View the entire infographic at: www.ckpublichealth.com/foodinsecurity

Monday, March 25, 12:10-1:00PM

PABC 224 or Teams (Hybrid)

Please register ahead by contacting Rebecca DEIJ@chatham-kent.ca or x. 2447

Light snacks provided. Please bring a full lunch if you would like.

Despite progress made over the past decades, women, and especially women with identities that have historically been marginalized, remain under-represented across every level of the corporate structure in organizations across Canada. Women face multiple barriers to participation and promotion in the workplace.

Join colleague Emily Crawford, Solicitor in Legal Services, for an open discussion about the experiences of women and how we can support women in our own workplace.

This session is open to everyone. We encourage people from all divisions to attend, including aspiring allies of women in the workplace.