A new group in Guelph is hoping to make things safer and more inclusive for vulnerable members of the city’s LGBTQ+ community, including those with special needs.
Guelph Rainbows aims to provide a safe environment for all LGBTQ+ people to be included in the community and activities no matter what unique barriers they experience, said Carole Hotson and Sian Matwey, two longtime local support workers who are facilitating the group.
Membership is open to anyone but aims to make things safer and more inclusive for the more vulnerable.
“It’s about becoming part of community and providing some safety nets,” said Hotson.
Matwey said there will be a strong educational component, including consent, sex education, how to be safe on social media, meeting people safely and understanding terminology.
“How can you identify when you don’t have the words for it?” Hotson said.
The group plans to meet monthly and hold special social events.
The first two members are Justin, 29, and Kendra, 41.
Justin, who is gay, and Kendra, who is transgender, both self-identify as being special needs.
They say they are looking forward to a variety of benefit, ranging from social activities and meeting new people in a safe environment to having guest speakers and learning about new things.
Both Justin and Kendra have had their challenges as they try and live their lives the way they want.
Justin has had bad experiences dating through the internet as he feels some have tried to take advantage of him because he is special needs.
“It will be a safer way to meet people than online,” Justin said. “I’d like to make new friends who can relate to me.”
Kendra, who is transgender and transitioning into being a woman, makes sure she sits at the front of the bus near the driver so she doesn’t get teased because of the way she looks.
For safety she uses family washrooms.
“I just turn a deaf ear,” Kendra says of the taunts she occasionally gets because of her appearance. “And never sit at the back of the bus.”
Matwey, who is Justin’s support worker, said she worries about his safety when he starts meeting strangers. She said Justin doesn’t always realize the signs that something or someone might be unsafe or when people are trying to take advantage of him..
“It’s about inclusion,” Matwey says.”Safety, consent, how to speak to family and be accepted. Both Justin and Kendra have gone through that.”
Matwey said the group can do things as simple as teaching the right pronouns so as not to offend.
Both Justin and Kendra have fractured family relationships because of who they are.
That creates an intensified lack of support for two people who need more support.
“My mom had a hard time with it,” Justin said.
Kendra, who grew up in the Orangeville area, used to go to Community Living in her hometown where she could dress as a woman and be herself, but then had to change and hide the clothes so her mother wouldn’t see her.
“I would go as a woman and come home as a man, smuggling my clothes back upstairs so my mother wouldn’t see them,” Kendra said.
“My mother wouldn’t allow it at home,” Kendra said, “and it was a small little community where everyone knows who you are. It was hard to blend in.”
She moved to Guelph earlier this year where she has found, for the most part, a more accepting community and a wider support network, including programs offered through ARC Industries.
Hotson said of paramount importance is the safety of those LGBTQ+ community members who are vulnerable and have challenges to social inclusion, be they intellectual or physical.
“It can be scary,” said Hotson. “We’re hoping to help those people feeling insecure about going out in the community and need some support.
“There’s definitely a lack of support for LGBTQ+ people in the more vulnerable sectors,” Hotson said.
“These are people that have a more difficult time having and navigating safe spaces.”
Inviting guest speakers, providing a safe place for open discussion and helping educate will hopefully make it a little easier for the members to be who they are, she said.
“It might just mean accompanying them to a dance or social activity to make sure they are safe,” Hotson said.
She adds that the group isn’t just for those with special needs, but for anyone who might benefit, including those with physical challenges, social anxieties “or even an ally who has an LGBTQ+ child and just wants to learn.”
The group formed earlier this month and plans on monthly meetings.
On Dec. 11 they will be holding a pizza and Play With Clay-sponsored event at 2 Quebec St. starting at 6 p.m.
For more information contact organizers through their Facebook group or via [email protected].
