What to do about wellness checks : Peer Support, Mutual Aid and Community-Based Organized Care as Alternatives to both Police “Wellness Checks” and the Mental Health System
2023-11-11 14:30 - 17:30 (America/Vancouver) | online – Zoom, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada
Join SFPIRG for a workshop series that will explore the violent reality of police “wellness checks” and our current social responses to people experiencing mental health crises. Through this series, we will build an understanding of police violence when responding to people in crisis, proposed psychiatric responses as alternatives to police, and also start to explore possible alternatives.
We have been discussing the problems with both police “wellness checks” and with the mental health system as it is presently. There is no question that people in mental health crisis need support. But what kind? And who can provide it? Can we build alternative sources of support, and are there ways that we could shape our society to help more people avoid entering into crisis in the first place? These are some of the questions we will explore in this workshop, while also looking at possible alternative approaches and discussing what might be possible here.
Register for this session here.

Fee Refunds - Spring 2024
2024-01-31 08:00 - 2024-02-15 23:59 | BC
SFPIRG is a student-funded non-profit organization, autonomous from both the University and the Student Society. We receive $3 each semester from each full time student and $1.50 from each part time student. Following a successful graduate student referendum in Spring 2020, as of the Fall 2023 semester, we received $6.13 from full-time graduate students and $3.07 from part-time graduate students. Therefore, after paying their student fees, all students are members of SFPIRG and can use the resources available through our centre. Non-students can also become associate members of SFPIRG and get involved with us.
We realize that not everyone shares SFPIRG’s values, so each semester we offer students the ability to revoke their membership. If you would like to opt-out, bring your student card, proof of payment & registration for the semester some time during the dates and times listed below. Once you opt-out, you are no longer a member of SFPIRG and will not be eligible to use the organization’s resources and services.
To Opt Out:
Fee Refund Week occurs between January 31 – February 8.

Fee Refunds will be processed digitally in Spring 2024 for the protection of our communities.
Email admin@sfpirg.ca to opt out of membership and receive a fee refund no later than 11.59pm on Feb 15th.

SFPIRG 2023 Annual General Meeting
2024-02-22 10:00 - 12:00 | Online
Join SFPIRG for our Annual General Meeting!
Every year we gather together as an organisation to think about where we have been and where we are going. This is an opportunity to recognise amazing community work we have supported and led, talk about finances and funding of a non-profit organisation, and recognise the work we have ahead.
Register here!
As a student-funded organisation, we love opening up our doors to share the work we have done together as a community! Every year at our AGM we review what we have done in the past year, reflect on what works, what doesn’t, and think through how we use student funds to fuel change in the world – and in students! This year, we ware excited to be joined by sχɬemtəna:t St’agid Jaad Audrey Siegl of Musqueam Nation to welcome us to the territory.
Once again, we will be hosting this event online for the safety of the communities we work with. We will not have ASL available for this event, but will have closed captioning available. We are also committed to making spaces emotionally accessible for folks, which includes supporting generative conversations (even/especially when its difficult) and providing trigger warnings. If you have other accessibility needs we can work to meet, please let us know by emailing Noëll at engagement@sfpirg.ca
We will be updating the meeting documents as we get them prepared:

the SFPIRG AGM Agenda, which includes the review of our annual report and budget, as well as an opening from Audrey Siegl.
the meeting minutes from our 2023 AGM
the Annual Report for 2022-2023 of our activities and relationships
Financial reports for the reporting period

Picnic in the Garden
2024-05-28 14:00 - 16:00 | The SUB Learning Garden
Join the SUB’s student support centers for a summer semester kickoff at our Picnic in the Garden! Enjoy some watermelon, lemonade, and games for a day of fun in the sun!
Feel free to bring your own blankets and pillows!
RSVP Form!

We Keep Us Safe
2024-06-08 11:00 - 16:00 | BC
On a campus without cops, harm and conflict don’t disappear. So as we aspire to a cop free campus, it’s essential that we build the skills necessary to keep each other safe. Our de-escalation training attempts to do exactly that! Join us on June 8th to participate in a workshop designed to equip folks with the tools and techniques needed to navigate escalated situations in a way that prioritizes safety and decreases the level of conflict and tension. Through video-based learning, interactive scenarios, resource mapping, etc. our hope is that folks will leave feeling empowered to de-escalate and confident in the knowledge that WE KEEP US SAFE!
RSVP Here!

Accessibility:

Physically accessible venue (can be reached via elevator or stairs) with physically accessible washrooms nearby
Access needs check-in at event
Name tags for sharing names and pronouns
Relaxed environment (feel free to leave and come back, fidget, move around, etc.)
Opt in/or opt out options for all the stations and activities
Stim & fidget toys available
Lunch will be provided with vegan and gluten-free options

LFTI Onboarding and Letter Writing Session
2024-06-24 14:00 - 16:30 | SFPIRG Lounge SUB 1410, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada
Join the LFTI team for an onboarding and letter writing session! Together we’ll make sure you have all the tools, resources, and know-how that you need in order to respond to information requests from incarcerated folks. After that, we’ll get right into working on pending information requests together. RSVP here. We can’t wait to see you there!
📅 Date: June 24
⏰ Time: 2:00 PM – 4:30 PM
📍 Location: The SFPIRG Lounge (SUB 1410)

Self Compassion Workshop
2024-06-27 14:00 - 16:00 | Online
Mark your calendars and come learn with us on June 27 for a workshop dedicated to self-compassion. Facilitated by our Director of Research and Education, Hannah Ghaderi, this session will guide you in nurturing kindness and understanding towards yourself, especially in moments of difficulty and stress.
What to expect:
– Techniques to cultivate self-compassion in daily life
– Guided exercises and mindfulness practices
– Building a supportive and compassionate community
RSVP here.
Date: June 27
Time: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Location: Online

Me, My Body, and I - Workshop Series
2024-07-11 14:00 - 16:00 | Online
This workshop series explores the intricate connections between our bodies, social identities, and the world around us, and how these elements collectively shape and impact our health and wellbeing. Each session focuses on different aspects of this interplay, providing participants with a comprehensive understanding of the factors that influence their physical and psychological health.
This series aims to empower participants with knowledge and tools to better understand and influence their own health and wellbeing through the lens of their unique life experiences and identities.

Session 1 (July 11th): Introduction to the Series
Session 2 (July 18th): Epigenetics: How Our Environment Influences Our Genes
Session 3 (July 25th): Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Their Impact on Health
Session 4 (Aug 1st): The Impacts of Trauma on Brain Structure and the Nervous System
Session 5 (Aug 8th): How Our View of Ourselves is Shaped by the World Around Us
Session 6 (Aug 15th): The Interplay of Identity and Health
Session 7 (Sept 12th): The Role of Community and Social Support in Health and Wellbeing
Session 8 (Sept 19th): Stress, Coping Mechanisms, and Resilience
Session 9 (Sept 26th): Reflecting on the Journey and Moving Forward

⏰ Time: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
📍 Location: Online (RSVP here to receive meeting link)
The information you enter in this form will be kept confidential.
Filling out this form is required in order to get the video meeting link.
Reach out to us at research@sfpirg.ca if you have any questions!

Liberation Summer Organizers' Bootcamp
2024-07-17 10:00 - 2024-07-18 17:30 | Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6B 5K3, Canada
Are you ready to win freedom for yourself, your family, and your communities? Come find your kinfolk with Embark Sustainability, SFPIRG, and Organizing for Change for two days of learning, sharing, networking, and skill building. Register now to join us July 17-18 for Liberation Summer at SFU Harbour Centre and 312 Main.
As we build our collective power in response to the urgency of ongoing global crisis, moments of reflection and connection are crucial in strategizing to realize the change we want, need, and deserve in the world today. It’s vital to lift each other up in this fight and collaborate on our tactics together in real-time. Whether you are a seasoned activist or new to the game, enrolled student or lifelong learner, employed in an environmental organization or aspiring to work in the sector someday soon, all are welcome, and we know we are strongest when we harness the diversity of our networks.
From July 17-18, we will be building intentional space for both emerging and veteran organizers to come together and strategize our next steps at the intersections of climate justice, disability justice, abolition, Indigenous sovereignty, poverty reduction, and racial justice. Participants in Liberation Summer will leave better motivated and equipped to actively work toward climate justice sustained by their community and comrades.
What can you expect from us?

Relationship Building
Intergenerational exchanges of knowledge
Multi-sensory workshops & activities
Strategies for building sustainable movements
Resources for getting involved in local climate and social justice movements

If you have any questions or support needs, please email programs@embarksustainability.org. In the meantime, remember: “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way; on a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.” ~ Arundhati Roy
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This event takes place on the unceded homelands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and kʷikʷəƛw̓əm (Kwikwetlem) Nations.
COMMUNITY AGREEMENT
By registering to attend this event, you are agreeing to be respectful when listening to and communicating with others, and be mindful of the space you are taking up amongst your peers. There is no tolerance for violence or aggression against others on the basis of race, ethnicity, place of origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious affiliation, or ability. Please also refer to people using the introductions they provide and do not assume pronouns/gender/knowledge based on someone’s name or appearance. If these agreements are broken by someone, we will have to ensure the safety of our community members by removing them from the event.

HEALTH & SAFETY
We further acknowledge that COVID is not over and that the pandemic disproportionately impacts the most vulnerable among us including BIPOC, poor people, and folks living with illness and/or disability. In light of these realities, and in the spirit of nurturing communities of care, we will be practicing the highest level of precaution possible including masking during all indoor programming. We ask that all participants similarly act with the utmost precaution to limit transmission of the virus. Masks will be provided for attendees.

How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (Reading Group Part 1)
2024-07-31 16:00 - 18:00 | SFPIRG Lounge SUB 1410, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada
In this 3-part facilitated reading group, participants will be diving into Walter Rodney’s book How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. In the first session, folks will be exploring who Walter Rodney was as a guerilla intellectual and looking at the first two chapters of the text. We’ll get to discuss some of the basic concepts that ground Rodney’s study of the encounter between Europe and Africa, and we’ll also get to dive deeper into some of the case histories he provides of pre-colonial African development.

RSVP Form

Workshop: Learning from Palestinian Resistance
2024-08-06 16:00 - 18:00 | Khalida Jarrar Library, 515 West Hastings St., Vancouver, BC, V6B 5K3, Canada
In this workshop on Palestinian Resistance, participants will be exploring Palestine’s national liberation movement and reflecting on the different tactics its made use of at different points in its history. The goal of this session is to draw out lessons in this rich history of activism that can be applied to our movements today, here and now: Palestine solidarity work, anti-colonial movements in so-called “canada,” and so much more.

RSVP Form

How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (Reading Group Part 2)
2024-08-15 15:00 - 17:00 | Fraser Library, 250 - 13450 102nd Avenue, Surrey, BC, V3T 0A3, Canada
In this 3-part facilitated reading group, participants will be diving into Walter Rodney’s book How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.
RSVP Form

Teach-in: Marxist Fundamentals
2024-08-20 18:00 - 20:00 | SFPIRG Lounge SUB 1410, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada
In this teach-in on Marxist Fundamentals, participants will be reviewing some of the basic concepts in Marx’s theory of history. We’ll be discussing concepts like “base and superstructure”, “mode of production”, and “class”, and reflecting on how these concepts can deepen our understanding of the world around us and inform our political work.

RSVP Form

How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (Reading Group Part 3)
2024-08-29 14:00 - 16:00 | Khalida Jarrar Library, 515 West Hastings St., Vancouver, BC, V6B 5K3, Canada

SFPIRG 2024 Annual General Meeting
2025-03-10 08:00 - 17:00 | BC
Join SFPIRG for our Annual General Meeting!
Every year we gather together as an organisation to think about where we have been and where we are going. This is an opportunity to recognise amazing community work we have supported and led, talk about finances and funding of a non-profit organisation, and recognise the work we have ahead.
Register here!
As a student-funded organisation, we love opening up our doors to share the work we have done together as a community! Every year at our AGM we review what we have done in the past year, reflect on what works, what doesn’t, and think through how we use student funds to fuel change in the world – and in students! This year, we ware excited to be joined by sχɬemtəna:t St’agid Jaad Audrey Siegl of Musqueam Nation to welcome us to the territory.
Once again, we will be hosting this event online for the safety of the communities we work with. We will not have ASL available for this event, but will have closed captioning available. We are also committed to making spaces emotionally accessible for folks, which includes supporting generative conversations (even/especially when its difficult) and providing trigger warnings. If you have other accessibility needs we can work to meet, please let us know by emailing Noëll at engagement@sfpirg.ca
We will be updating the meeting documents as we get them prepared:

the SFPIRG AGM Agenda
the meeting minutes from our previous AGM
the Annual Report for 2023-2024 of our activities and relationships
Financial reports for the reporting period
