Helping 2SLGBTQAI+ Youth Find Community

Over the last two months, we have been sharing Christine’s story of resilience. Her mom brought her to Canada for her safety. As an openly proud member and advocate for the 2SLGBTQAI+ community in Uganda, Christine’s life was in grave danger, because being queer in Uganda was a punishable offence.

Although being a part of the 2SLGBTQAI+ community is not a crime in Canada, discrimination and stigma are unfortunately still part of the Canadian landscape.

Did you know?

According to a 2022 study, 77% of sexually and gender-diverse youth have been the target of bullying. Sexually and gender diverse youth also report that their mental health is often worse than their cisgender counterparts. There is also an overrepresentation of 2SLGBTQAI+ individuals who experience homelessness: they represent 13% of the homeless population, despite representing only 4% of Canada’s population.

Among reasons for housing loss, 2SLGBTQAI+ respondents cited:

The top five types of stigmas that Canadians perceive the 2SLGBTQAI+ community face, are:

Top drivers of stigma

At Covenant House Vancouver (CHV), 35% of the youth we serve are from the 2SLGBTQAI+ community.

A social worker at CHV shares her experiences and observations regarding the 2SLGBTQAI+ youth we serve.

From her work at CHV, as well as other roles that she’s had in the community, she concurs with the government’s statistics that 2SLGBTQAI+ youth are overrepresented in the homeless population.

When asked what the most common reason was as to why a queer youth may not have stable housing, she said, “I would say the most common reason is due to differences with their families, and the families not being accepting of who they are as human beings. Many youth who come to us have left abusive family dynamics where their families do not respect or accept their sexuality or gender identity, and it has become extremely unsafe either physically, mentally, spiritually, or emotionally for them to continue to live in that environment.”

With regards to stigmas and societal barriers that prevent these youth from finding employment, housing, food, and other essentials, she replied, “I notice that when a young person expresses themselves with clothing, hair, jewelry, etc. they are automatically perceived in a certain way, and that prejudice will form before they can even have a conversation with someone. The major danger with these stigmas is that they continue to place queer youth in a box with very little options, opportunities, or understanding.”

The social worker agreed that queer youth face more hatred, violence, and prejudice than other youth do. When asked why she thought that was, she said, “I think that when there is a lack of education, or a lack of willingness to understand and accept individuals for who they are, we continue to perpetuate these harmful stereotypes, while, we inflict hatred, violence, and prejudice.”

 She went on to share how can we empower and support queer youth, apart from our programs and services. “The first step is when we create and maintain an inclusive environment for young people to be themselves. We do this through queer social opportunities, queer staff that youth can identify with, along with posters and information for others to read. Having social workers who have a deep understanding of what it means to be queer and to be accepting of these youth makes all the difference. When youth feel safe, heard, and understood, there is an opportunity to thrive.”

 The social worker then shared one of her favourite moments: “My favourite example is the queer nights in the Drop-In Centre. Youth are given the opportunity to connect with other individuals who share similar experiences as themselves, watch a movie or go on an outing, and share stories and food. It is a sacred and special environment to be in.”

 She shared something that she wanted the public to understand about the young people from the 2SLGBTQAI+ community. “The queer youth that we serve are truly some of the most remarkable and resilient individuals that I have ever worked with. While working against systemic barriers, like all of the youth do, they also are working against additional societal barriers. While we do have other supports in the city for 2SLGBTQAI+ youth, there is still a lot of stigma that surrounds the queer identity, which can make it difficult for youth to feel comfortable enough to access services.”

Did you know?

When Christine arrived at CHV, her mental health was suffering, she was dealing with abandonment (from being left behind in Canada while her family returned home to Uganda), and she didn’t feel safe to be her authentic self.

“In Uganda, you didn’t talk about mental health. If you had a problem, you buried it deep within yourself. We didn’t talk about it. I didn’t have any language whatsoever around my mental health or even my emotional well-being.”

Initially, Christine wasn’t ready to see a CHV counsellor. One day, she saw some youth participating in an art therapy session and she became curious. “In art therapy, I could express myself without words. I could just use my body or use my hands and a bunch of props, paint, and colour, and I could express my emotions. And then, I got to learn about my emotions, but outside of my body.”

Her experiences in art therapy made her curious about other forms of therapy. She then began to work with her counsellor on a regular basis. “The empowering and the processing parts of therapy are what appealed to me, because it was something that I had been looking for, and it’s also something that I had always wanted to provide to my community. The fact that you could sit down and have a safe place to talk about things that were going on in your life that were scary, and through this become empowered.”

In addition to therapy, Christine was connected to Qmunity, where she began to make friends and develop her own community.

CHV helped Christine acquire her Canadian ID and get her first job. She also modelled and worked in film to appease her creative side.

After eight months at CHV, Christine had a full-time job, she knew her way around the city, and she was starting to feel confident. She felt that it was time to move into the community. CHV helped Christine find supported housing as she began her transition to independent living. “The plan to transition to independent housing was well rounded and very supportive. When I left CHV, it never felt like goodbye. They always kept the door open for me, which helped me, mentally. If I ever doubted myself, or if residual fear from my past crept up on me, I knew that I could always go back. Just knowing that CHV was there for me and that my case manager was just a phone call away kept me going. It was like my safety blanket. Everyone needs a safety blanket.”

Christine’s story is a story of triumph over trauma. It illustrates what can happen when community comes together and supports 2SLGBTQAI+ youth.

If you are a 2SLGBTQAI+ youth who is looking for community, here are a few resources to help you connect:

The transformative work that Christine did, while at Covenant House Vancouver, never would have happened without the amazing support of our community. Donors are the backbone of what we do.

If you would like to support young people, like Christine, this is your last chance to have your gift doubled, thanks to the Wubs Family Foundation. They will match any gift, up to $100,000, but only until tomorrow, June 30^th!

Donate today!