Active Listeners
Active Listener #1: Amanda Lederle
Pronoun: They/Them
Active Listener Contact Times:
- May 3, 5-7pm
- May 4, 5-7pm
- May 5, 5-7 pm
Telephone Number: 647-696-0893
Email: [email protected]
As an Active Listener, I am not a mental health professional, I am a person with lived experience who has a compassionate and empathetic approach to listening to others. All conversations are kept confidential and in collaboration with the individual receiving the service. If desired, applicable mental health resources will be offered to ensure the individual leaves feeling supported.
Active Listener #2: Donovan McKenzie
Active Listener Contact Times:
- April 29, 5-7pm
- April 30, 5-8pm
- May 1, 5-7pm
- May 2, 5-7pm
- May 7, 5-8pm
Telephone Number: 416-670-3227
Email: [email protected]
Donovan McKenzie is the founder of Heart of a Man, an organization created to help communities overcome their inner battles, elevate their voices and inspire others by sharing their struggles openly. His work aims to find ways to support and encourage those in need. He is working on rewriting the narrative of what it means to be a human struggling with emotional and mental stress, one conversation at a time, by turning his pain into purpose.
Active Listener (Twice Colonized screenings): Amy Commanda
Active Listener Contact Times:
- April 27, 8pm-10pm
- April 28, 7pm-9pm
- May 1, 5pm-7pm
Telephone Number: 249-879-8719
Email: [email protected]
Aanii, boozhoo! My name is Amy Commanda and I am a member of Nipissing First Nation, a community near the city of North Bay, Ontario. As a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) and a member of Ontario’s College of Registered Psychotherapists, I am passionate about helping empower women, mothers, and couples overcome their struggles so they can live life as their authentic selves. I am also an Associate Therapist and Clinical Internship Coordinator with Cherry Tree Counselling and Psychotherapy which offers virtual counselling for clients in Ontario. As a First Nations woman and mother, I am confident in providing support for other women who have similar lived experiences such as perinatal anxiety and depression, challenges surrounding Indigenous identity and intergenerational trauma, as well as addressing issues related to women’s wellness. I am honoured to walk beside the clients that I work with, to hear their sacred stories, validate their gifts and strengths, and bear witness to their journey. I am here if you need a listening ear.