MEDIA COVERAGE
Alongside Trauma in the Media
THE WATERLOO RECORD: SMOKING POT TO ENHANCE THE YOGA EXPERIENCE
June 24, 2019
"While del Rosso wants to differentiate herself from other yoga instructors, she also believes ardently in the benefits of marijuana to reduce anxiety and stress or ease pain and depression.
She says she has used cannabis daily for years to help with the trauma from long-term abuse she endured as a child. She immediately noticed benefits when smoking marijuana before doing yoga.
"I could feel things in my body differently; I was able to quiet my mind more easily," del Rosso says."
570 NEWS: CANNABIS YOGA EVENT BEING HELD IN WATERLOO REGION FOR THE FIRST TIME
April 14, 2019
"According to Del Rosso, there are a lot of studies on the impact of cannabis on anxiety and depression, and more studies connecting it to activities as well.
"Like nature walks, yoga and meditation, and combining that to get even higher benefits from those practices."
Del Rosso has a cannabis medical licence to treat her own anxiety and depression, and in her own experience, found that yoga and pot go well together".
LIVE BETR: WHEN HOME ISN'T A PERFECT PICTURE
March 9, 2020
“If we come from a place where we don’t have trauma, and were not severely traumatized as children, our idea of home is gonna be very different from somebody who has experienced addiction or homelessness or abandonment,” she said. “I think that’s why my idea of home started with, or ended with, what does home feel like in my body and then how can I bring that externally. I think it depends on where you come from, what your history is, and your understanding of self.”
4 WOMEN CANNABIS ENTREPRENEURS WORTH FOLLOWING
June 26, 2020
"In Ontario, Jessi del Rosso creates safe spaces to educate people about trauma and its effects on the nervous system. She founded Alongside Trauma to assist childhood abuse survivors and people living with PTSD.
Another ally to her business is cannabis.
Having used cannabis throughout her life, del Rosso decided to combine her social work expertise with a Ganja Yoga certification so people could feel less scared about their trauma".
CBC: HIGH PROPORTION OF LGBTQ YOUTH AMONG HOMELESS, SAY RESEARCHERS
September 10, 2013
When Jessica Del Rosso was 15, she was spotted by her mother holding hands with her then-girlfriend. Soon after, she was kicked out of her family home and was forced to couch-surf at friends' homes for some time until she moved into foster care.
"Not only do you feel like you have nowhere to go, but it’s like wow, I just got rejected by my parents for being who I am," said Del Rosso.
Academics who study homelessness in the country say stories like Del Rosso’s are common across Canada -- researchers in Ottawa estimate that between 40 and 50 per cent of the city's homeless youth population identify as LGBTQ, which stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer.
THE WATERLOO RECORD: CROWN WARDS VOICE FEARS OVER LOSING SUPPORT TOO SOON
June 9, 2012
Jessica Del Rosso, 21 is featured in a video ... In Waterloo Region, five teens in care are adding their voices to this ...
THE CATHOLIC REGISTER: SAVING OUR KIDS: CHILD CARE REFORM PUTS SAFETY FIRST
February 11, 2017
At 15, Jessica del Rosso’s mother saw her walking hand-in-hand with another girl and threw her out of the house. “Kicked me out and basically said all my belongings had been thrown out to the landfill, that I no longer had a family and to never come home,” del Rosso said.
On the edge of turning 16, del Rosso had two weeks to decide whether to sign herself into foster care as a crown ward. She did and at 26, del Rosso is a social worker and public speaker with a degree from the University of Waterloo.
“Going into care, in a way it saved me from a life of potential homelessness. I don’t know if I would have gone to school or not,” she said.
ADVOCACY FOR YOUTH IN CARE & LGTBQ COMMUNITY
For years I have been an advocate for youth in and from foster care and the LGTBQ+ community. You can find a list of my involvement and advocacy below. I share my list of involvement as a way to demonstrate alliance with other survivors from these marginalized groups.
Awards and Advocacy
2010 – Ontario Youth Matter Certificate of Public Service
2011 – KYAC Award – Social Justice and Action
2011 – Top 40 Under 40
2012 – RYLA Youth Leadership Award
2012 – Youth Leaving Care Working Board
2013 – Leading Women’s Award
2013 – Family and Children Services of Guelph and Wellington Award of Merit in Recognition of Improving the Lives of Youth in and Leaving Care
2013 - ORCA Conference speaker
2013 – The Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children, The Children’s Rights Trailblazer Award
2014 – The Amethyst Award for Outstanding Achievement by Ontario Public Sector
2014 – LGTBQ Youth in Care Working Board
Speaking Events
2009: Family and Children Services of Waterloo Region Believe it Achieve it Speaker
2010: Family and Children Services of Waterloo Region ONLAC Peer Mentor speech
2010: Ontario Youth Matter speech
2010: Family and Children Services of Waterloo Region Breakfast of Champions speech.
2011: Speaking event at St. Andrews Church thanking for the use of Roy Street agency building.
2011: Family and Children Services of Waterloo Region Believe it Achieve it speech on being a kid from foster care and following your dreams.
2011: Waterloo Regional School Board speech on supporting kids from the foster care system in school.
2012: Catholic Secondary School Board speech on supporting youth from foster care
2014: WAYVE Youth Conference: https://wayve.ca/about/wayve-conferences/think-big-wayve-conference-2014/
2015: Family and Children Services of Waterloo Region Foundation speech
2016: University of Waterloo Town and Gown Event https://uwaterloo.ca/renison/news/renison-grad-and-top-40-under-40-waterloo-region-speak-town
2016: University of Waterloo Social Development Studies Recruitment speech
News Reports
2012: Crown wards voice fears over losing support too soon: https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/2012/06/08/crown-wards-voice-fears-over-losing-support-too-soon.html
2013: Blueprint for Fundamental Change to Ontario’s Child Welfare System: http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/English/professionals/childwelfare/residential/youthleavingcare.aspx
2012: Youth Leaving Care on Talk Local: http://www.fixcas.com/cgi-bin/go.py?2012d.TalkLocal
2017: Saving our kids: child care reform puts safety first: https://www.catholicregister.org/features/featureseries/item/24321-saving-our-kids-child-care-reform-puts-safety-first
Environmental Advocacy
2018: HOW TO CUT BACK ON WASTE WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK https://communityedition.ca/author/jessica-delrosso/
Queer Advocacy
2010: Kiss in protest: https://www.dailyxtra.com/lesbians-kicked-out-of-waterloo-cafe-for-kissing-30237
2013: Tri Pride OUTstanding Youth Award: http://www.grandriver-rainbowhistory.ca/tri-PrideAwards.html
2013: High proportion of LGBTQ youth among homeless, say researchers: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/high-proportion-of-lgbtq-youth-among-homeless-say-researchers-1.1699451
2014: Kitchener sticks with flag ban at city hall: https://www.niagarathisweek.com/news-story/4515671-kitchener-sticks-with-flag-ban-at-city-hall/
2015: Parkminister Church speaking event: http://www.parkuc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Whats-Up-Sun-April-26.-2015-1.pdf
Cannabis Yoga
2019: Cannabis yoga event being held in Waterloo Region for the first time: https://www.kitchenertoday.com/local-news/cannabis-yoga-event-being-held-in-waterloo-region-for-the-first-time-1374185
2019: Smoking pot to enhance the yoga experience: https://www.therecord.com/life/health-wellness/2019/06/24/smoking-pot-to-enhance-the-yoga-experience.html
Other
2012: Youth Leaving Care YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRy7qRveXI4
2014: Next Gen Rogers TV interview on Youth Homelessness in Waterloo Region
2015/16: Family and Children Services Waterloo Region Board of Directors: https://www.facswaterloo.org/assets/documents/subfolder/AnnualReports/FACS-Annual-Report-2015-2016_web.pdf
Protest Support and Activism
April 10, 2010 – Kitchener-Waterloo Kiss in
April 7, 2017 – Queens Park Education protest
June 3, 2020 – Black Lives Matter protest Kitchener-Waterloo
Publications
2014 - Out Proud, Stories of Courage, Pride and Social Justice.
2015 – The Bus Ride Home https://www.cafdn.org/thebuzz/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/12/The-Bus-Ride-Home-Project_FINAL_Low-Res_Online.pdf
2017 – FIVE 14 Event – “Walking Alongside my Trauma” article
2019 – Day by Day (self-published)
2020 - Guardian Angel (self-published)