Foster Care Training

“Understanding systems of oppression as theoretical frameworks for understanding how our society is organized can help us direct our work as changemakers and community members. That being said, it can sometimes be easy to forget that people (ourselves included!) make up these systems. When we can clearly see the roles we are each playing in our everyday lives and leverage the positions we hold, the change we desperately want and need comes closer to home as it becomes an accessible part of our ways of being. We begin reshaping our relationships, institutions, and communities in ways big and small with every interaction. Because of the structure of anti-fat bias and how it interacts with other forms of oppression” and because of the nature of the constantly-moving goals oppression has for us” many of us experience thin privilege, despite not necessarily feeling ‘thin,’ since privilege is less visible to us when we experience it by design. How can we understand our positionality in the context of an anti-fat system to leverage our positions and advocate for the true health and well-being of our clients and communities? In this half-day interactive workshop, we will learn what anti-fat bias is and where it came from to better understand how it shapes our lives Attendees will examine their own identities to gain context and perspective on our experiences and opportunities to create change. Participants will have a supported space to examine our socialization into an anti-fat society and to consider the nuances and intersections of our experiences. Together, we will learn with and from each other to witness and be witnessed, better align our actions with our intentions, practice having collaborative conversations, and consider ways to recognize, discuss, and challenge anti-fat bias in our daily interactions.”