WAGE Grant

2021 in Review: We’ve Come So Far…

In January of 2021, SPECTRUM embarked on Project Excelsior, a landmark capacity-expanding project, which was made possible by a generous grant from the LGBTQ2 Community Capacity Fund. This project was envisioned and planned by our former ED, Jim Parrott, and former Trans Services Coordinator Melissa Kennedy, who spearheaded the grant application process to secure a transformational grant of $279,782.

Thanks to that grant, the Project Excelsior team as well as SPECTRUM’s volunteers, Board, and community partners have made incredible strides to expand our ability to affirm and support the well-being of 2SLGBTQ+ people in Waterloo Region.

SPECTRUM Programs

From August 2020 – July 2021, SPECTRUM had:

  • More than 2000 participants across 796 Zoom Sessions, totaling 344,345 minutes of Zoom sessions!
  • An average of 180 Zoom participants each month
  • 270 people participated in our RDT pilot workshops
  • 178 people attended virtual Pride events
  • Through our partnership with OK2BME, 129 counseling sessions were provided for 48 clients between August 2020 and June 2021

In addition, we’ve added seven new programs to our roster, including:

  • A 2SLGBTQ+ Book Club in partnership with Waterloo Public Library
  • A Queer Crafting Circle in partnership with Button Factory Arts
  • A 2SLGBTQ+ Yoga Group in partnership with The Branches
  • A 2SLGBTQ+ Mindful Movement dance therapy group
  • A Social Networking Group for Young 2SLGBTQ+ Adults aged 25-40
  • A 2SLGBTQ+ Youth Peer Support Group for ages 18-25
  • A Transgender Peer Support Group for Cambridge

And we’re not finished yet! We know there is still a need for programming for Black, Indigenous, and racialized people, programming for people with underrepresented genders and orientations, and programming for children, parents, and families. We’re currently working with consultants from local Black and Asian communities to help us understand the needs of those communities and how we can create programming and spaces that are accessible and relevant for them.

New SPECTRUM Resources

The SPECTRUM team has also worked hard to create and launch the following resources for the 2SLGBTQ+ community and their allies in 2021:

And, just wait until we welcome you back to our new physical space which is more than double the size and will be decorated with a mural by Trisha Abe…

We need support to keep going!

We’ve accomplished so much this past year, but there’s so much more than needs to be done! We hope that you’ll include SPECTRUM in your year-end giving to help us continue to keep our doors open and to allow us to provide programs and services that have been life-saving for some members of our community.

Click here to make a donation to SPECTRUM today!

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Events, SPECTRUM News

Transgender Day of Remembrance 2021

Every year on November 20th, we observe the Transgender Day of Remembrance to remember the transgender people we have lost to violence in the past year.

This year, the Glow Centre and SPECTRUM are partnering with ACCKWA and SHORE Centre on a virtual vigil event for the Transgender Day of Remembrance on Saturday November 20, 2021 at 3pm. From 3-4pm we will hear from speakers, and from 4-5pm there will be a facilitated healing circle.

Click here to register for the event.

(A small number of students will be able to attend in-person on the U Waterloo campus, other community members will be able to attend virtually)

The event will be hosted by Sam Faulkner. Our speakers will be Dewe’igan Bearfoot, Cait Glasson, TK Pritchard, and Teneile Warren. The healing circle will be facilitated by Mandi Cowan and Washington Silk.

Dewe’igan Bearfoot (she/they)

Dewe’igan Bearfoot is a two-spirit transfemme Anishnaabe woman hailing from Spry Lake Ontario. They came out as Bisexual at the age of 16 and then came out as Trans between the ages of 19 and 20. Since then they’ve become an advocate for Mental Health Awareness, 2S and LGBTQA+ Rights and Land Back.

Sam Faulkner (they/them) 

Sam is a design student interested in advocacy work and community event planning as well as user experience research and hearing health. They have participated on numerous committees that focus on improving transition related health care and LGBTQ+ sports inclusion including co-founding Ottawa-based trans youth group, SAEFTY. In their free time, they enjoy crocheting and writing articles for their university’s student government.  

Cait Glasson (she/her) 

Cait is a lesbian who came out as such 29 years ago, and at 55 is a mother, grandmother, activist, educator, and, incidentally, trans. Cait is the former President of the Board of Directors of SPECTRUM, Waterloo Region’s Rainbow Community Space. 

TK Pritchard (they/he) 

TK is the Executive Director for SHORE Centre, a reproductive rights and sexual health non-profit. TK has previously worked as the Public Education Manager for the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region, a Sexual Health Educator,  and as a facilitator for OK2BME running social support groups for queer youth. 

Teneile Warren (they/them) 

Teneile Warren is a Black, Nonbinary, and Queer identifying Racial Equity and Anti-Oppression Educator based in Kitchener, Ontario. Through their professional practice, they consult with public and private institutions on addressing racial equity, gender equity, creating anti-oppressive spaces, and guiding organizational equity change initiatives.  They are the co-founder of insideWaterloo and the Equity and Inclusion Officer at the Waterloo Region District School Board. 

Washington Silk (they/them) 

Washington Silk is a Registered Social Worker. They hold a BA in Anthropology from the University of Lethbridge (2010) and a Master of Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University (2013). Wash is a passionate transgender and queer social worker with over 10 years of clinical and community experience. They are a white settler from Alberta. They have lived experience of ADHD, learning disabilities and mental health struggles and recovery. 

Mandi Cowan (they/she) 

Mandi Cowan is the co-owner of Cultivate Counselling. They graduated with a Master of Social Work from Carleton University in 2014 and have worked in the KW area ever since. As an experienced therapist, and also someone who has accessed mental health services, Mandi believes in the importance of finding a counselling space that values you as a unique and complex person or couple, and can adapt to meet your needs and goals. 

Below are local resources for transgender people, and those looking to learn more about trans and gender-diverse people here in Waterloo Region.

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SPECTRUM News

Relaunch of SPECTRUM’s Rainbow Diversity Training program and new eLearning modules

In January, SPECTRUM embarked on a year-long capacity-building project – Project Excelsior – which was made possible by a generous grant from the LGBTQ2+ Community Capacity Fund.

At the beginning of the year, we conducted a series of community surveys to identify unmet needs in our community. Those surveys revealed a lack of community support for 2SLGBTQ+ people, and an overall lack of awareness or knowledge of 2SLGBTQ+ people and their experiences. As such, an overhaul and expansion of our Rainbow Diversity Training programs was identified as a key goal necessary to the success of the project.

Throughout the year, the Project Excelsior team has worked hard to expand our previous training into a new series of 2SLGBTQ+ cultural competency training offerings. As the year draws to a close, we’re pleased to be able to announce the relaunch of our Rainbow Diversity Training with two key offerings: workshops for organizations and online eLearning modules for individuals.

Workshops for Organizations

SPECTRUM’s Rainbow Diversity Training workshops help organizations along the path towards becoming more open and welcoming, as well as equitable and accessible to persons of all sexual and gender diversities, both to clients and employees of the organization.

Our series of RDT workshops can help organizations at all stages of their learning process:

●          Rainbow Diversity Training 101

●          Rainbow Diversity Training 102

●          Rainbow Diversity Training 201

●          Rainbow Diversity Training 301

●          Rainbow Diversity Training for Leaders

●          Aging with Pride (for senior-serving organizations)

We also have a one-hour lunch and learn that provides a condensed version of the 101 workshop.

Interested? You can find more information about topics covered in the workshops and pricing here.

Online eLearning modules for individuals

In addition to our training workshops for organization, SPECTRUM is very excited to announce the launch of two new eLearning courses.

Why offer online courses?

The continuing evolution of our cultural understanding of gender and sexuality can sometimes make it difficult for non-2SLGBTQ+ people who want to be respectful to avoid using terms that are outdated and possibly offensive. So SPECTRUM is here to help! SPECTRUM’s Rainbow Diversity Training eLearning courses are meant to help allies and people looking to become allies form basic understandings of 2SLGBTQ+ terms, concepts, and experiences.

SPECTRUM offers two options for eLearning about 2SLGBTQ+ basics:

  • Rainbow Diversity Training 101: a course covering basic terms and concepts
  • Rainbow Diversity Training 102: a supplementary course that covers privilege, intersectionality, and puts the basic terms into context

Users can choose either to purchase access to just the 101 course, or a discounted bundle including both the 101 and 102.

Want to learn more? More information about the courses and purchase options here.

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SPECTRUM News

We’re looking for local 2SLGBTQ+ people to write guest blogs for SPECTRUM!

SPECTRUM is looking for local 2SLGBTQ+ people to write guest blog posts, to be published on our website in 2022, as part of our continuing efforts to raise awareness of 2SLGBTQ+ people and experiences in Waterloo Region.

Guest bloggers will be paid an honorarium of .30 cents per word for posts of up to 500 words. Guest bloggers will retain ownership of their work; the honorarium is to purchase indefinite rights for SPECTRUM to use the work.

What we’re looking for:

  • Length: 300-500 words
  • Topic: either a personal story or experience or a specific 2SLGBTQ+ issue in our community
  • Completion date: blog posts to be completed no later than December 18th.

SPECTRUM would especially like to hear from Black, Indigenous, and other QTPOC members of our community.

Interested? Submit a pitch for a column topic here! Pitches must be received no later than November 14th to be considered.

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