Happy Pride month from all of us at the Ontario Association of Social Workers!

I am grateful for Ontario’s 2SLGBTQI+ community and the many Queer-identifying social workers who are working each day to improve care and systemic supports for folks across the province.

At the Ontario Association of Social Workers, we remain committed to advocating for supports for 2SLGBTQI+ communities and to centering the experiences, leadership, and expertise of 2SLGBTQI+ social workers.

To be a social worker is to support the journeys of the people we work with and the communities we work in; to listen deeply and to be committed to learning.

This Pride month, I am reflecting on how these wonderful aspects of social work are interdependent. As allies and co-conspirators, we cannot authentically support individuals, groups or families from 2SLGBTQI+ communities unless we are committed to learning from the vibrant history of collective action that has secured important advancements in equity. We also cannot engage in deep, important learning about 2SLGBTQI spaces and care unless we are truly committed to providing equitable support, even when it is difficult.

I appreciated that being an ally and co-conspirator to the 2SLGBTQI+ community requires humility: I acknowledge I do not have the lived experience of the individuals or communities I seek to support. To authentically engage in these important conversations about care, therefore, I must always acquire a posture of learning and curiosity.

This learning must be grounded in recognizing the current challenges facing 2SLGBTQI+ individuals, families and communities. More than 60% of 2SLGBTQI+ people in Canada experienced a form of discrimination in the last year, which is deeply affecting their mental health, according to a 2024 Leger poll. Our response to the mental health challenges 2SLGBTQI+ communities are facing must also be aware of the ongoing societal and systemic inequities they face, as well as recognizing how social workers who identify with these communities may face heightened levels of burn out as they respond to the growing need for holistic mental health care.

For me, this awareness means exploring how our intersectional identities shape our voices and experiences. It means thinking critically about how anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism can heighten risk for people in 2SLGBTQI+ communities.

At OASW, we have committed to these nuanced discussions and learning experiences as a staff team, board of directors and through our equity integration advisory group, which is informing internal changes and external policy initiatives.

I also encourage Ontario social workers to apply this posture of learning as we celebrate the organizations that have been “doing the work” for decades, such as Egale Canada, which was founded in 1986 in response to the critical need for increased rights and protections for 2SLGBTQI+ communities, or Rainbow Health, an organization that leads education and advocacy initiatives centring 2SLGBTQI+ health equity.

I invite you to explore our team’s curated list of resources, helpful websites, videos, and learning materials that celebrate these organizations and prompt us as social workers to think deeply about our role in advocacy and authentic allyship.

Happy Pride!

In solidarity,
Ajirioghene Evi, CEO
Ontario Association of Social Workers