Local Safety & Inclusion Solidarity Networks - Elevating grassroots knowledge and the voices of people

IRIS Info Sheet - Safe and Inclusive Communities By Doris Rajan - Published May 1st, 2021 Local Safety & Inclusion Solidarity Networks Elevating grassroots knowledge and the voices of people experiencing heightened structural marginalization The Issue Over the past few decades, regional and national coalitions, collectives, and advocacy/ self-advocacy groups have been working to address the povert. [...] The design of LSISNs is informed by an understanding of the broader context and specific manifestations of marginalization as experienced by Indigenous, migrant, Black/African, and other racialized peoples, both on their own and in terms of how these experiences of marginalization intersect with disability. [...] Many of these frontline workers work to address the poverty and violence that is experienced by their community and therefore can point directly to the places where systemic barriers exist and what is needed to remove those barriers. [...] In Phase two, IRIS will use the results of these focus groups and workshops to identify a city-specific community-based “action,” i.e., an intervention that puts the LSISN’s collective understanding of what should be done in its community into practice, in order to address the systemic nature of violence and oppression for the target populations. [...] The goal is to demonstrate the viability of one kind of model of housing for low-income marginalized women-identified people to feel safe and supported, and have access to what they need to live a good life.