Who We Are
Mandate
Safely Connected, The Eating Disorder Centre ("Safely Connected") strives to create and uphold intersectional spaces and operations dedicated to eating disorder care that is anti-ableist, anti-racist and anti-colonialist, fat-positive, body-neutral, and queer- and trans-inclusive. These beliefs and principles are put at the forefront of all of our operations and beliefs. We acknowledge that the basis of medical care and research for eating disorders has been largely focused on white, cisgender, non-disabled bodies, and experiences. We therefore commit to constantly questioning the racist, ableist, cisgender, heterosexual, patriarchal norms that have the potential to be replicated in our organization’s internal and external processes, training content, programming, and the resources we use.
Safely Connected is a volunteer and staff-run not-for-profit organization with two main branches of operations. One is a training branch, and the other is a university chapters branch. We provide training workshops on trauma-informed, and gender inclusive eating disorder care. We provide chapters with support and education on the topics of eating disorders, body image issues, and disordered eating and exercise.
Our chapters offer support services that are free of charge, confidential, and non-judgmental. We strive to centre the experiences and perspectives of those who use our services. We work towards providing financially accessible eating disorder support to address socio-economic barriers to care. Safely Connected chapters create services that are tangible and relevant to individuals who have lived experience with eating disorders, disordered eating or body image issues. These services are provided within a trauma-informed and harm reduction framework.
Through our trainings, we aim to change the current system of eating disorder care to be inclusive, knowledgeable and affirming of all identities, with a specific focus on transgender, gender diverse, and intersex experiences.
Through our events and partnerships, we aim to disseminate information to raise awareness about eating disorders and disordered eating; to provide resources for those who are interested in learning more about eating disorders and disordered eating; and to address the misconstrued, oppressive notions, and images of eating disorders in popular media. We accomplish this by creating spaces, content, and media centralizing real, intersectional stories and experiences rarely depicted in the mainstream discourse, prioritizing the voices of Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, gender and sexually diverse and disabled individuals with eating disorders.
Our Story
In 2017, McGill defunded their Eating Disorder Program, a program with its faults, but that offered extensive and professional support to students suffering from EDs. Since then, the Mental Health Care on the McGill Campus has had severe deficiencies in eating disorder, disordered eating care and awareness.
After the McGill Eating Disorder Program was fully defunded in 2017, students began advocating for eating disorder support services that were now lacking on campus.
In 2018, Cody Esterle ran for SSMU VP Student Life with a passion and mission to improve mental health and illness services and awareness on campus, and to help the people who need it the most. In his role, he ran the first SSMU Eating Disorder Awareness Week and started regularly meeting with other invested students. As a response to the lack of resources and conversations around eating disorders and disordered eating on campus, VP Esterle and Paloma Hepler, along with several other students instrumental to the creation of the program, led a plan for the SSMU to start building much-needed support services.
This effort eventually grew into a resource centre to hold peer-support programs, raise awareness, and do advocacy work – the SSMU Eating Disorder Resource and Support Centre. The Eating Disorder Advocacy position was also created under the Student Life’s Mental Health portfolio to conduct advocacy and organize campaign work around eating disorders.
In March 2020, the SSMU Eating Disorder Resource and Support Centre officially became a fee-funded SSMU Service. Through the efforts of the campaign work, the EDRSC, and Cody Esterle, the parent entity of this service was created “Safely Connected”, to expand its model throughout Canada in Fall 2021.
We are in a constant process of change and adaptation, in order to best meet the needs of our local community, and we gladly welcome feedback and input as a part of this process.
Our Mission
Through extensive training, experience and exposure to what and how people experience eating disorders, Safely Connected aims to break down the barriers to conversation, recognition and validation of the experience of an eating disorder. Through awareness and education, we create more inclusive and caring environments that resist the toxic, and encouraging thoughts and reactions that diet culture has created. Through support services, we create community, and safety for the people who need it the most.
Our Vision
Address, understand, and deconstruct the basis of eating disorder care that is designed on a eurocentric, thin, able-bodied, cisgender, endosex model to create accessible, and accountable systems of care for all communities.
Break down the unrealistic and distorted aims of diet culture and fitness culture, to create university campuses that become spaces of care, recognition and understanding like we are, allowing students to connect and heal through community.