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about us

missINFORMED is a youth-led health education and advocacy platform that crafts resources from an intersectional and community-informed lens. The organisation was founded in response to the lack of accessible health information for women and gender-diverse people across what is currently Canada. As young people, there are many questions about our health and health system we wish we had comprehensive answers to. What do I need to know about my breast/ chest health? Why does sex not feel for me, what it looks like in the media? Where can I find a gynaecologist who provides trauma-informed care? In our search for answers to these deeply complex questions about our health and health system, we’re often confronted with an overwhelming amount of misinformation and only surface-level answers that do not appreciate the complexity of our experiences.  

 

Western scientific research, informing much of what ‘health resources’ are today, has largely been focused on the needs of privileged groups, particularly the white cis male experience. This severely limits what young women and gender diverse folks are able to understand about our health, especially those of us who live at the intersection of other equity-deserving identities. We’re left without answers and feeling like our experience is completely unique to us. 

our mission

Our mission at missINFORMED is to respond to this glaring need for health resources that reflect the people who require them, and that incorporate diverse knowledge systems rather than relying solely on the Western research paradigm. We want everyone to know that they are not alone in their experience. Your questions about your health are valid and deserving of answers. 

our purposes

Resource Creation

Create credible resources made accessible to women and gender-diverse folks across what is currently Canada.

Foster communities among Women & Gender-diverse folks

To connect women and gender-diverse folks in communities across what is currently Canada by creating a safe space for sharing lived experiences.

Health Literacy Promotion

To promote health literacy on topics of health that often are mis-represented in, or absent from, formal institutional curricula and the Canadian health system.

Apply an Intersectional Lens

To ensure that we centre intersectionality (as coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw) throughout all of our work.

Promote LGBTQIA2S+ Research

To facilitate and promote research that disrupts dominant cis- and hetero-normative health narratives

Combat Stigmatization

To combat the stigmatization of health issues of women and gender-diverse folks.

Advocate for Women & Gender-diverse folks

To actively advocate for the health and wellbeing of women and gender-diverse folks.

Our team is a reflection of the community we serve. Young people who share your questions and experiences create the resources that are available on our website and socials. 

our board of directors

our executive team

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Chief Research Officer & Co-Founder

Kayla Benjamin

She/her

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Communications Team

Vanessa Matos

She/her

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Director of Research

Roma Dhamanaskar

She/her

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Research Team

Zoë Levi

She/her

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Research Team

Carly Cihosky

She/her

become a member

Are you looking to volunteer with missINFORMED on a regular basis? 
Click the link below to learn more about our teams and what we are looking for.

Stay in-touch

Want to stay up-to-date with our community? Drop us your email, and

we'll send you only sweet things.

 

We promise 😊

Thank you!

missINFORMED is a national non-profit designed to provide health education & to promote informed advocacy through evidence-based teachings and by centring the lived experiences of women and gender diverse folks. This information is not designed to replace a physician's independent judgment about the appropriateness or risks of a procedure for a given patient. Always consult your doctor or health care professional about your medical conditions. missINFORMED does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Use of this website is purely for informational purposes. 
 

missINFORMED primarily operates on the traditional land belonging to the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, Attiwonderonk, Mississauga Peoples, and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. However, we hope to support Nations across Turtle Island. We acknowledge that our actions contribute to the land we live on, and as such, we are tasked to be caretakers of this land and the people that inhabit it. For the individuals of immigrant and settler Canadian descent present on our team, we acknowledge that our positions on health, and our accessibility to healthcare, have been largely shaped by our own lived experiences, which encompass many privileges. We are committed to evaluate & decolonize our practices continually and do our best to incorporate the lived experiences of the land defenders and protectors within our work. We plan to use our platform to be inclusive of all women and gender diverse folks who call the geographical confines of what is currently known as Canada, home. We hope to build our organization to represent and support those with multiple identities, including but not limited to queer, trans, two-spirit, and non-binary folk, as well as those who are Black, Indigenous, or Persons of Colour. As an organization, we will try our utmost best to ensure that only individuals with lived experiences speak on behalf of their communities while still recognizing that communities of colour and the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community are not a monolith. While each member of missINFORMED brings their own experiences, education, and expertise, we are always motivated to keep learning and to keep expanding our repertoire and knowledge capacity.

Land acknowledgements like this one are a great start to decolonizing the current colonial systems by which we operate, but they are not the only thing we can do. For example, actively supporting the sovereignty of Indigenous Nations such as supporting policies and movements that give the land back to Indigenous Nations, policies that do not condemn Indigenous communities or make it more difficult for them to receive the support that they deserve, paying Indigenous people when their knowledge and emotional labour are requested, and so much more. You can learn more about the Nations you share this land with here. 

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