resources & support
free emergency services in Toronto
– Assaulted Women’s Helpline 416 863 0511
– Toronto Rape Crisis Centre 416 597 1171
– Distress Centres of Toronto 416 408 4357
– Senior Crisis Access Line 416 498 8600 x9284
– Lesbian Gay Bi Trans Youth Line — Friendly Crisis Lines 416 962 9688
– Kids Help Phone 416 586 5437 / 1 800 268 3062
– CAMH The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
– Community Information Toronto (shelters, legal services) Dial 211
free social supports in Toronto
– Parent Help Line Resources/Family Support – 1 888 603 9100
– the 519 – 416 392 6874
– Toronto PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) – 416-406-6378
– Eating Disorders including Anorexia, and Bulimia Toronto
– Ontario Association of Women’s Centres
– Recovery College Canada (free courses for mental health – incredible resource)
anti-racist resources
Here are a few sources that I found thoughtful and particularly helpful:
– My Grandmother’s Hands – – Resmaa Menakem, trauma-sensitive psychotherapist
– How To Be An Anti-Racist – Ibram X. Kendi (audiobook highly recommended)
– Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood – Trevor Noah (audiobook highly recommended)
– The Skin We’re In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power – (Torontonian) Desmond Cole
– Do Better & Spiritual Activist 101 – Rachel Ricketts
– The Myth of Race, Debunked (YouTube)
– White Fragility (excerpt from audiobook via YouTube)
– Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man (YouTube)
– 103 Things White People Can Do For Racial Justice (article)
– When Feminism Is White Supremacy in Heels – Rachel Cargle (article)
– Why You Need To Stop Saying All Lives Matter – Rachel Cargle (article)
– Dear White Women; How To Be An Ally – Rachel Cargle (article)
personal recommendations
Here are some books and podcasts that have shaped my thoughts, feelings, choices, and perceptions.
- The Book of Forgiveness – Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu (his daughter, an Anglican priest)
- When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice For Difficult Times – Pema Chodron
- Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find and Keep Love – Amir Levine & Rachel Heller
- Wired for Love – Dr. Stan Tatkin
- Dr. Brené Brown
- Esther Perel
- Loving What Is – Byron Katie
- All About Love – Bell Hooks
- The Four Agreements – Don Miguel Ruiz
- Spiritual Bypassing & Transformation Through Intimacy – Robert Augustus Masterson
- Eating in the Light of the Moon – Dr. Anita Johnston
- The Buddha’s Brain – Dr. Rick Hanson
- Untamed – Glennon Doyle
- Michael Stone (books, classes, workshops, and Awake in the World podcast)