Sudbury leaders, advocates chat about community inclusivity

Inclusion was the topic of discussion at the Coffee Chat on Friday, organized by officials with Community Living Greater Sudbury.

Inclusion was the topic of discussion at the Coffee Chat on Friday, organized by Community Living Greater Sudbury.

The inaugural event was part of Community Living Month, a province-wide awareness campaign that celebrates inclusion, belonging and the achievements of people with intellectual disabilities.

“To really come together and say, how can we find innovative … solutions to community inclusivity?” said executive director Sherry Salo.

“What can we do better? How can we build our strengths and how can we make Sudbury a role model of inclusivity across the province?”

“If everyone buys in and everyone does their part, I think there’ll be a lot of good change for the better,” entrepreneur Ryan Benoit told the audience.

“I think it was a great turnout. I think having events like this (is) extremely important to kind of spread the word and give people a different perspective and share stories.”

Benoit, who owns clothing brand Positive Inception, was one of five panelists at the event.

Also on the panel were Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre, Sudbury MPP Jamie West, Kevin Cooper from Sudbury Community Service Centre and Jackie Balleny from Sudbury District Restorative Justice.

“People are not just invited into spaces, but they’re genuinely valued and heard and that they’re able to participate with dignity, voice and belonging,” Balleny said, when asked how she defines inclusivity.

The event was moderated by Sudbury MP Viviane Lapointe, a former executive director of Community Living.

“The work that you do is seen and it’s valued,” Lapointe told the audience, which included Community Living clients and staff.

Following the moderated portion, the audience had a chance to ask their own questions of the panelists.

The conversation continued afterwards while everyone enjoyed coffee and pastries.