The Community Care Centre welcomes all students with support and open doors as life returns to campus.

Charlene Holmes has worked with the Student Association (SA) for more than four years in various capacities, currently holding the position of community care coordinator with the Community Care Centre (CCC).

The centre run by Holmes and their team is open to all students, but prioritizes six equity groups, namely Black students; First Nations, Inuit, Metis Students; Disabilities Students; International/Racialized students; LGBTQ Students; and Women and Trans students.

The CCC provides low-barrier services which means that students do not have to register themselves to use any resource or services provided by the centre.

CCC currently offers free sexual health supplies such as condoms and pregnancy tests, menstrual health supplies, and campaign materials available for anyone who requires them.

The main objective of the centre, however, is to keep their doors open for students. The room, filled with board games and other activities, is a safe space for students of all equity groups.

“I grew up in a small rural town where my siblings and I were the only racialized people. That is my lived experience, and my goal is to ensure that the CCC always provides room for everyone and their lived experiences,” said Holmes. “Our work is based on equity campaigns and education initiatives.”

They followed up by speaking about the campaigns planned for the semester, such as the ‘From the Margins’ book club.

Equity staff members do a monthly rotation for this book club where students can register in advance, get free books to read and have peer-to-peer discussions about these books. Orange Shirt Day will also be observed this semester, along with other education initiatives and training on anti-oppression, suicide prevention and harm reduction among other topics.

Holmes says they are a value-based leader along with being caring and compassionate. They add that care-work is very demanding but especially important at the same time, which is why they transitioned from an event planning field to working for non-profits and student unions about five years ago.

In their time here, Holmes has found that peer support is one of the CCC’s most important aspects. This work is done by Holmes and the CCC full-time and part-time support staff.

The part-time support staff are divided into equity groups to ensure that they can navigate and work through the experiences of people with whom they work. Boundaries are drawn between what peer support can and cannot do, however, the centre as a whole is changing to more trauma-informed care post-pandemic.

“We are here for students, and we are prepared for both virtual and in-person support. We recognize that the pandemic is not over,” says Holmes. “We never left, we never will.”

The centre still has virtual hours and students can always email individual peer support staff for assistance. CCC spaces are currently open at the Casa Loma and Waterfront campuses, while the St. James space is temporarily closed due to renovation works.

For more information visit www.studentassociation.ca/ccc/.