Wellness Breaks with Melanie Marsden-Meyers
Wednesday 14 April 2021 ~ 11:30 am - 12:30 pm Pacific
AND
Thursday 15 April 2021 ~ 2:20 - 3:00 pm Pacific
All too often, in organizing and academic spaces alike, we overlook ways we can be in community to help each other decompress and recharge. Providing such spaces has become even more difficult in the time of Covid-19, when more events are being held virtually. Our conference planning committee carved out a Wellness Break each day so that we can each have the time to engage with ourselves and/or our temporary virtual community in ways that support us.
As part of our commitment to community care, the planning committee created an optional decompression space, a space where conference attendees can hang out, debrief about workshops, share their thoughts on abolition, and imagine a world beyond prisons, borders, and walls. While we would love to have this room open throughout the day, the concern of zoombombing and our limited capacities as a small organizing committee make doing that difficult. Instead, we are offering this virtual space during this designated Wellness Break in the middle of the conference day. You are welcome to come and go as you please or take your own wellness break during the allotted time.
As abolitionists we are all fighting for the end of systemic oppression. Sometimes this means that we have to talk about systems of oppression that cause suffering, which sometimes can in turn trigger our own suffering, anger, sadness, and a wealth of other emotions. In addition to using the decompression space as a space to be with community, we have a volunteer trained in healing practices available to anyone who would like resources or suggestions on self and community healing practices.
This volunteer, Melanie Marsden-Meyers, is a member of the Alderville First Nation on Turtle Island (now called Canada). Her Indigenous name means “She Carries the Light Woman.” Melanie is a consultant for Circle Insights, and was previously the Project Manager and Accessibility Specialist at Springtide Resources. She holds a degree in social work, and recently completed suicide intervention training with Living Works. She also completed several trauma and healing workshops held by Algonquin College in Ottawa Ontario and Hincks Delcrest in Toronto Ontario. Melanie takes an intersectional approach as an Indigenous person who is blind. She is a parent of three and grandmother of one.