Dear Camosun Community members;
The past few months have been an incredibly trying time for our institution as folks continue to do work on behalf of our students and each other while coping with a lot of uncertainty and grief at the departure of colleagues and the looming reorganization which will fracture and re-set long-standing structures and work relationships. It’s been harrowing to see how fear, anger, sadness and grief have become a daily presence at work. In light of this, and the recognition that this heaviness will be with us for some time, we would like to invite you to an experiment in community support.

We will be hosting two small, two-hour, in-person sessions limited to 20 participants each.

• Wednesday, February 19^th from 1:00 - 3:00 PM at the Interurban Campus (location TBA) - go to registration for Wednesday, February 19th session
• Friday, February 21st from 2:30-4:30 PM at the Lansdowne Campus (location TBA)

NOTE: Sessions will be open to ALL members of the college community.

While there is much that we can do to strategize and think constructively on how to respond to the cuts, the primary purpose of this session is to unpack and sit with our emotions rather than attempting to fix or repress them. The aim will be to validate and compassionately hold each others’ experiences in community so that we can feel empowered by knowing that we won’t be going through this process alone. We recognize that this isn’t something for everyone as some folks prefer to process things in private, but wanted to offer this space for folks who’d like to explore how we can support each other, human-to-human, as a community.

Facilitators for the sessions will be:

• Interurban Session: Chris Avis and Bijan Ahmadi
• Lansdowne Session: Diane Gilliland and Martha McAlister

Should these sessions prove to be valuable and successful, we plan to hold future sessions later this year. Is this session right for you? Consider if you feel comfortable with the following:

Agreements for participation in our Space Holding Session:  Each member of our Circle is asked to commit to these agreements. These agreements lead to and maintain a safe container. 

• I agree to keep confidential everything shared and discussed within this circle and to ask to set discussion boundaries if there are things that I am not comfortable sharing with the broader group.

• I agree to co-create a ‘container,’ where we practice providing and receiving unconditional positive regard and encourage diversity.

• I agree to practice listening compassionately, and to share from a place of “I want to hear” rather than “I want to fix”.

• I agree to share air time, to not dominate a conversation and I will intend to include everyone.

• I agree that if challenging thoughts or emotions arise for me within this group, that I will seek the proper help to process them.

• I understand that while we may engage in vulnerable or emotional discussions, this session is not a form of therapy and I agree to seek professional support if needed.

• I agree to reach out to the facilitators if I am struggling with anything that has arisen from the group or if I am concerned about the well-being of another group member.

The registration form below is for the Friday, February 21st session at the Lansdowne campus. To register for the Wednesday, February 19th session at the Interurban campus, click here.