For our June spotlight, we are pleased to introduce Ro Dineen (they/them), a WCC facilitator since 2023. Over the years, Ro has facilitated in many peer support settings, including spaces for 2SLGBTQ+ community members.
DESCRIBE YOUR JOURNEY AS A WCC FACILITATOR – HOW DID YOU FIND WCC, AND WHEN DID YOU BECOME A FACILITATOR?
RO: I was introduced to the WCC through a friend and fellow co-facilitator. We were talking about resources that can help folks to connect and express themselves during hard times, and she planted the seed in my mind. One of the first pieces I wrote was instrumental in my journey to build a stronger connection to my family.
Once I saw that WCC workshops helped me tap into my inner wisdom, I was hooked! I became a facilitator in 2023 and since then I have co-facilitated workshops at The Well (Belong Ottawa), Kindspace (Ottawa’s 2SLGBTQIA+ Community Centre), and The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre.
WHAT BRINGS YOU TO VOLUNTEERING? AND HOW DOES FACILITATING WORKSHOPS IN PEER SUPPORT SETTINGS ALIGN WITH YOUR OBJECTIVES AS A VOLUNTEER?
RO: Volunteering has been a core part of my life since childhood. As a teenager, I volunteered to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society and spent four years volunteering at a senior’s residence with veterans and dementia patients. In university, I volunteered my time to tutor students who were struggling. I’ve participated in community clean-ups, food collection drives, and supporting conferences for women’s initiatives. Over the past few years, I have dedicated my time as a peer support volunteer in the mental health community and as a volunteer with the Ottawa Fringe Festival.
I value human connection, compassion, empathy, hope, and respect. To me, volunteering is my way to show that compassion and empathy are deserved, not earned or paid for. In WCC workshops, I appreciate the opportunity to reassure each writer that their authentic voice is welcome, respected, and heard. When I facilitate in community and peer support settings, I feel lucky to be able to meet our writers wherever they are at in their individual journey, and pay respect to the stories they honour us with. My hope is that our workshops remind them that their voices are irreplaceable and we value their presence in our community.
JUNE MARKS PRIDE MONTH, A TIME TO RECOGNIZE THE HISTORICAL STRUGGLE FOR 2SLBGTQ+ LIBERATION AND TO CELEBRATE THE LIVES OF TWO-SPIRIT, LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER, AND QUEER PEOPLE. CAN YOU DESCRIBE HOW THE WCC PROGRAM IS A SUPPORT FOR 2SLGBTQ+ WRITERS?
RO: When I am in a WCC workshop, I know that I can write about any part of my queer, trans, non-binary life without judgement or censorship. The stable structure and boundaries asserted by WCC’s Six Essential Practices reassure me that my stories belong and there is no room for hate against 2SLGBTQIA+ writers. We draw on queer voices as prompts for our writing, and in doing so we create a conversation between our present selves and queer folk who paved the way before us.
In these workshops we break cycles of isolation and erasure by controlling our own narratives. We can write about scars, hormones, families, fear, euphoria, social expectations, love, sexuality, disability, and anything intersection that we feel called to put into words. When I’ve facilitated 2SLGBTQIA+ community workshops, I feel immense gratitude for the chance to listen to queer peers. We exist, we’ve always existed, we belong in this world, and the world needs our voices!
WHAT DO YOU EXPERIENCE IN A WCC WORKSHOP, WHEN YOU WRITE WITH OTHERS IN PEER SUPPORT SETTINGS? WHAT IMPACT DO THESE WORKSHOPS HAVE ON THE WRITERS?
RO: When I write in peer support settings, I feel connected to others who are also experiencing the roller-coaster that is life as a human. Talking about what stays with us from another writer’s piece allows us to validate and celebrate each other’s strengths. The structure protects us from unwanted comments that might make us think twice about writing our thoughts on paper let alone sharing with other people.
Showing unconditional high regard for each other’s writing is peer support, and it helps us feel connected to community and shared humanity. Writing together is an antidote to the isolation we might experience due to our life circumstances and marginalized identities. I think it’s really important to also acknowledge that our writers don’t have to pay to join our workshops. When I am in a WCC workshop I feel hope and relief because our time together is not hindered by financial barriers. I hope that it makes our writers feel like they belong in our workshops and writing community.
REFLECT ON ONE OF WCC’S SIX ESSENTIAL PRACTICES. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU, AND WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF IT IN YOUR WORKSHOPS?
RO: I feel a strong connection to the third practice: “If you read, we will treat what you have written as fiction. Even if you identify your writing as memoir, we will still address the story as a piece of writing.” What this signifies to me is that we respect boundaries in WCC workshops. We welcome people to be present and witness their own stories without assuming that we, as listeners, have the right to comment on someone’s life. There are other spaces where writers can go to ask for advice and to receive support for their personal challenges. In WCC workshops, we offer the chance to express personal stories and emotions creatively. Our intention is to focus on the stories that writers generously offer to share and encourage their creative expression. When we address another person’s words as a piece of writing, we practice intentional peer support and offer the safety of expression without criticism.
WHY DO YOU WRITE? TELL US ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO WRITING!
RO: Much like many of you, I live with an obnoxiously loud inner critic that gets in the way of expressing myself. I live with mental health challenges and one tool I learned works for me is writing. Putting pen to paper helps me process my thoughts, feelings, and memories. My wise mind is activated through writing and WCC workshops help to ground me. I already know I have the capacity within me to be destructive, and when I attend WCC workshops I start to believe in my capacity to create.
Often I surprise myself with what comes out on the page. One time I wrote a funny poem about dust bunnies, and when I realized I created something humorous, I felt like I accomplished something I previously thought was unattainable.
I continue to write because I’m curious to know what future me has to say. I feel proud of the pieces I’ve written about love, grief, family, disability, transness, queerness, struggle, and success. I honour myself by writing about my transition, my losses, my changing perspective of the world, and my reflections on my growth as a person and as a part of a larger whole.
Thank you, Ro, for your tremendous work as a WCC facilitator and peer support volunteer. We at WCC are deeply grateful to have your voice and compassion in our community.