For the sixth year in a row, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has been named one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers.
“We don’t only promote diversity, we celebrate it,” says Kim Bellissimo, Vice President of Human Resources and Organizational Development. “It’s a way for us to actively demonstrate that everyone is welcome here.”
The Canada’s Best Diversity Employers competition recognizes the nation’s leading organizations when it comes to creating inclusive workplaces for employees from five diverse groups: women; visible minorities; persons with disabilities; Aboriginal peoples; and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) peoples.
Here are some of the reasons CAMH was selected as one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers for 2016:
- CAMH offers exceptional family-friendly benefits, including maternity and parental leave top-up payments for employees who are new parents. CAMH also has an onsite daycare facility that employees can take advantage of when they are ready to return to work.
- As part of the organization's important role in the community, CAMH hosts a number of events and celebrations for employees, families, clients and the broader community on key diversity dates, including Black History Month, International Women's Day, Pride Week, and National Aboriginal Awareness Week.
- Employment Works! , a unique initiative that recruits people with lived experience of mental health and/or addiction challenges into vacant CAMH positions and also helps clients and others in the community find external employment. As part of the program, CAMH partners with George Brown College to organize education sessions for employers on hiring and supporting those with lived experience with mental illness and addiction in the workplace.
For Michael Antwi, a Research Co-ordinator in CAMH’s Social Equity and Health Research Department, his passion for inclusivity is a natural fit at CAMH.
Michael’s work focuses on improving the lives of those who experience addiction and mental illness, including those from marginalized groups that traditionally have had problems accessing high-quality, appropriate care.
“Being part of such a diverse group allows me to learn from different people and exposes me to different ways of thinking about things,” says Antwi. “That’s huge.”
Kim Bellissimo says she is proud of what CAMH has achieved.
“We offer a level of inclusivity I’ve never experienced before,” she says. “It stands out because it’s all done in a such a professional way.”