community education Search helpline

About the Lived Experience Network

NEDIC's Lived Experience Network is a group of leaders from across Canada who share lived experience of an eating disorder. It is comprised of people of varying backgrounds and identities, working together to better to lives of those living with and/or affected by disordered eating. Members of NEDIC's Lived Experience Network volunteer online for around five hours per month for a two-year term. 

Why Did We Create the Network? 

Lived experience has always been at the heart of NEDIC's work and values. Many of our team members have utilized their first-hand knowledge to better support clients on our national toll-free helpline and chat services and to educate others through our community initiatives.


By creating this network, we aim to provide a platform that acknowledges and amplifies these experiences and create meaningful opportunities to better the lives of those impacted by eating disorders. We believe that you have the best understanding of your own experience with an eating disorder and through your own unique journey, have a valuable perspective on what "recovery" looks like. By acknowledging these experiences, we can contribute to a collective public discourse that de-stigmatizes conversation and values all of our strengths. 

Values

Equity

Safety

 

Empowerment

Authenticity

Criteria

Are you interested in joining our network? With our core values of equity, safety, empowerment, and authenticity, our Lived Experience Network aims to be a secure, comfortable space for those with lived experience of an eating disorder to work together to make a difference and better the lives of those who currently live with one. To live by our values, we have a few criteria that we have put in place for you to reflect on as you determine whether this is the opportunity for you. 

    • Commit five hours of time per month for two-year term
    • Participate via teleconferences (phone, video/audio e-platforms) for meetings up to two hours in length
    • Read, understand, and communicate an understanding of the group’s materials via e-mail or during meetings (i.e., suggested recommended reading level of Grade 8 English)
    • Co-exist within an established organizational structure (NEDIC’s existing advisory committee, staff, and volunteers) and be willing to sign a confidentiality agreement to protect sensitive client information 
    • Listen with an open mind and compassionately discuss topics and narratives about other people’s varying lived experiences

How to apply

What does the Network do?

  • This could include tasks like:

    • Writing and/or helping curate NEDIC’s blog
    • Participating in NEDIC’s community education initiatives as a panelist, co-facilitator, and/or content curator
    • Supporting Eating Disorder Awareness Week programming locally and nationally

  • Help contribute to change in your local community. With the help of Network members and the NEDIC team, spearhead community education initiatives with your school, workplace, community organizations, and others to help contribute to a society that dismantles diet culture and is more eating disorder-informed.

  • Champion our cause! Attend events (in-person, online) equipped with information and resources about eating disorders to share with those in attendance; share your experience as part of mental health events; take in new perspectives; and inform the rest of the network about what you've learned!