panel 1

Who do we serve ? Our students live in hous s, apartments, hotels, shelters, foster homes and group homes. Our students live in communities that are rural, urban, quiet, exuberant, fast-paced, tightly-knit or loosely connected. Some of our students express their gender identities in a male/female binary, others express their gender identities on a fluid continuum. They all find love in different ways. Our students come from families that are led by same-sex partners, single parents, partners who are married or not, grandparents, foster families, aunts or uncles or siblings. Some of our students live on their own. Their ancestry is rich and diverse. Some students come from the ancestral land we are on, some are descendants of historical settlers to Canada; some migrated from other countries and some have come as refugees. All of them have rich, personal stories and narratives. Our students adhere to and connect with their faith in temples, synagogues, churches and mosques. They connect with their spirituality in our forests, fields and in their homes. For some, their faith or creed is represented in their manner of dress, the symbols they carry, the food they eat, or in their silent prayers and reflections. Some of our students do not follow a faith or creed. Our students are young, they are adolescents and adults; they experience different degrees of health and well-being; some are sighted, hearing and ambulatory, others are differently-abled. They speak many languages and have varied talents and skills. Some of our students have many choices ahead of them, others face limited and challenging options. Some have dreams of greatness; others plan for survival. Together, we are the DDSB.

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODQ2Nw==