Kathleen Finlay’s Advocacy Clinics
Now part of Generative/Compassion
The advocacy clinics launched, run and financed by Kathleen Finlay have operated on a pro bono basis from the beginning, serving the needs of those affected by medical errors, sexualized wrongdoing, mental health issues, income disparity and institutional harm.
In addition to saving lives and empowering victims, they have provided a backdrop of lived experiences and shared stories from victims and survivors over the course of two decades to create a rich knowledge base that informs the work and ideas of Generative/Compassion. No other advisory brings this depth of background and insight to their client consultations.
Many policy and legislative changes have resulted from our advocacy work, including 988, the new national mental health crisis and suicide prevention lifeline, which Generative/Compassion’s founder Kathleen Finlay introduced to Canada in a tireless campaign launched in 2019. Kathleen’s advocacy work has also produced public policy firsts in combating sexual misconduct, reinstating basic income benefits to low income seniors, requiring disclosure of statistics regarding sexual misconduct complaints at the federal level and banning non-disclosure agreements in cases of sexual harassment.
Generative/Compassion, part of the Global Initiative for Generative Compassion, is the only consulting group that offers clients the deep insights and capabilities that come from this kind of lived experience knowledge base and the extensive repertoire of resources and expertise it has produced to help clients avoid reputation-damaging crisis — and to successfully manage it when it does occur.
The ZerΟNow Campaign works to combat the conditions that lead to gender violence and sexual harassment. A frequent voice in policy and legislative circles, The ZerΟNow Campaign has won legislative changes to make the workplace, the community and the campus safer and was among the first voices to call for a global ban on non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).
The ZerΟNow Campaign was the first organization of its kind to shine a spotlight on the sequalae of physical and emotional harm inflicted on victims in the aftermath of their experience. Since its beginning nearly two decades ago, The ZerΟNow Campaign’s outreach clinic has assisted countless victims in rebuilding their lives and recovering from the trauma of institutional betrayal.
The Center for Patient Protection
The Center for Patient Protection, and Patient Protection.Healthcare, is an independent, patient- and family-centred advocacy to improve patient safety and reduce medical harms in the hospital setting.
We work for greater transparency to empower patients and families in their decisions, champion healing virtues and use patient experiences to assist providers in the delivery of safer outcomes.
The Center’s Safer Women’s Health Initiative™ focuses on the unique health care needs of women and calls for eliminating gender-based barriers to obtaining safer care and outcomes.
The Center was the first organization of its kind to offer an online advocacy clinic to vulnerable patients and their families. It has assisted thousands in their healing journey and is visited every day by health care providers and patients around the world.
Hire Us Back helps to rebuild lives by supporting victims of gender-based violence and sexual harassment to restart their careers.
It is the first organization to focus on this missing part of the #MeToo agenda. Too often, a chosen career is the second victim as a result of coming forward. Hire Us Back works with trusted and reliable employers to provide a safe entry point, with appropriate supports, to renew a career and resume income-producing employment.
A number of US-based universities, health care providers and financial institutions have stepped up to offer this promising avenue to survivors who were previously forgotten by the workplace.
Every day, 12 Canadians die from suicide and another 100,000 attempt to take their lives. Getting help quickly to those experiencing crisis is the key to saving lives. 988 answers that need.
Kathleen Finlay introduced Canada to the promise of this new digital technology, first developed in the United States, through an extensive campaign of op-ed columns, media interviews and outreach to politicians and the mental health establishment. Her work has been profiled on CTV National News, CBC News The National and in numerous media platforms.
After years of silence and inaction on the part of those in charge of delivering on this promise, 988 has finally arrived and is available on all telephone and mobile networks across Canada. It is three numbers that can save lives. If you or a loved one is experiencing an emotional crisis, please speak to a trained counsellor by dialing 988. It could make all the difference.
Our Global Advocacy Clinics by the Numbers
Here’s a snapshot of the pro bono activities of the global advocacy clinics founded by Kathleen Finlay. These numbers are for just the past 10 years. No one has ever been charged for the advocacy services they have received, which can extend over weeks at a time.