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Ariana Gomes, Apprentice, Resilient & Diverse Communities By Design
Capacity Canada’s Apprenticeship Program, Resilient and Diverse Communities By Design, has been developed in partnership with the Suncor Energy Foundation (SEF). Through partnerships and relationships with those who are courageously seeking solutions, the Suncor Energy Foundation helps spark change and propel progress for generations ahead. Capacity Canada is grateful to the Suncor Energy Foundation for generously providing the resources to build resilient communities across the country through its Apprenticeship Program.
The nine-month Program is intended for individuals who want to learn the foundational elements of human-centred design to bring professional skills back to their communities to drive meaningful change toward more regenerative approaches.
A registered social worker, Ariana Gomes has worked in several shelters in Toronto that help women who have experienced violence. Ariana, who has been working with Nellie’s shelter for almost a year as their community support and outreach supervisor, believes communities benefit from human-centred design thinking.
“Too often, service providers and program developers fall into the habit of creating services they think could benefit a community without consulting and using community experiences and voices at every stage. If we do not create space for community feedback, we risk causing more harm than good. Which is why human-centred design thinking is essential,” she says.
Ariana is one of the four apprentices selected as part of Capacity Canada’s nine-month paid Apprenticeship Program – Resilient and Diverse Communities By Design. The program is generously supported by Suncor Energy Foundation. The SEF believes in sharing power and co-creating sustainable solutions to complex challenges and contributing to the development of the social innovation sector to develop programs.
In March this year, Capacity Canada invited young changemakers from diverse communities across Canada to apply for its program. “We encouraged people from under-represented groups to apply as we feel the spirit of human-centred design is well suited to addressing many of the challenges faced by our diverse communities,” said Cathy Brothers, CEO of Capacity Canada.
Human-centred design is an approach to problem-solving that begins with a deep understanding of and empathy with the people you’re trying to reach — and then designing and testing solutions from their perspective. By including key stakeholders throughout the process, the solutions generated are more likely to be accepted and embraced.
“The idea of human-centred design was not a new concept to me. But it has not been implemented strongly within our programming. This Apprenticeship Program has broken down all aspects of the process into steps. It shows us how crucial it is to implement each step to ensure a successful solution to a problem,” added Ariana, who applied to the program as soon as she learned about it from the executive director of Nellie’s shelter. Nellie’s shelter operates programs and services for women and children who have and are experiencing oppressions such as violence, poverty and homelessness. The shelter is committed to social change through education and advocacy, to achieve social justice for all women and children.
Initially hesitant about taking another course being taught online, Ariana had some reservations about applying. “During the last two years of the pandemic, while working with different shelters, I have seen how online programming wasn’t engaging enough and often led to a lot of Zoom fatigue and burnout. I wasn’t sure if it would add to my skills or experience in any way,” she said while adding that the Capacity Canada Executives-In-Residence, made a massive difference to her learnings during the course.
“Both Liz Dennis and Hugh Munro have done a spectacular job creating an online community. They have created many opportunities for the participating apprentices to get to know their peers and brainstorm in a safe and comfortable setting. I feel connected and engaged in the course and my peers’ projects, and I always look forward to hearing about what they have done in the weeks we don’t meet,” said Ariana.
Ariana has already begun implementing a human-centred design thinking lens to some of the programs at Nellie’s shelter and is confident it will have a positive impact. “I believe this lens will allow us to address the gaps in our service while honouring client voices and experiences. It will help us further engage and build trust within the community and develop meaningful programs.”
Ariana is excited about the next phase of the program. She is confident her experience will help amplify community-led and community-informed efforts for sustainable solutions to complex issues that both Capacity Canada and the SEF strive to address.
The Apprenticeship Program builds on the work of both Capacity Canada and the Suncor Energy Foundation to build and support resilient individuals, organizations and communities across Canada. In the next phase, apprentices will work on a virtual design project related to their connected communities. The project will be completed in the next few months with coaching and mentoring support from the Capacity Canada Design Team.
Learn more about the Apprenticeship Program on Capacity Canada’s website.
