You bring your whole self to work each day, and that includes every aspect of your identity: your heritage and its unique point of view, your sexual orientation, your gender, and all the experiences you've lived through those lenses.
For this reason and many more, University of Manitoba employees can now benefit from culturally sensitive counselling services through a new Employee & Family Assistance Program (EFAP) Kii by CloudMD. Kii offers mental health supports for the BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S+ communities, along with Elder and Knowledge Keeper supports for Indigenous employees.
"As a community committed to equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility, the University of Manitoba recognizes the impacts these lived experiences can have on our employees' mental health and well-being," said Rene Ouellette, Associate Vice-President (Human Resources). "We're proud to enhance this commitment and offer UM employees mental health supports that suit their individual needs and identities."
Employees can look forward to working with counsellors and therapists from diverse backgrounds who have experience working with BIPOC or LGBTQIA2S+ individuals or have lived experiences as members of these communities.
Elder and Knowledge keeper supports for First Nations, Métis and Inuit employees involves a specific intake process that first pursues the client's requested Elder/Knowledge Keeper. If you don't have a specific Elder/Knowledge Keeper in mind, the intake nurse care coordinator at Kii will attempt to connect you with a counsellor who has lived experience or therapeutic experience working with Indigenous Peoples.
UM employees who have questions about the intake process or the services Kii provides can call Kii at 1-866-814-0018 or log into the Kii online portal.
by Michael Symons
