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.
Banner for the Grand River Rainbow Historical Project’s Coming Out Stories
As part of SPECTRUM’s Grand River Rainbow Historical Project, we are collecting local coming out stories! We believe oral history is extremely important so we are calling for anyone whose coming out story took place in Waterloo Region to create a short video that will live on the Grand River Rainbow Historical Project website.
Our goal is to collect at least one coming out story for every year, going back as far as we can. These stories will catalogue the wide variety of experiences that 2SLGBTQ+ people have had over the decades. Some of them will inspire, others will be cautionary tales, but they all help to make up the fabric of our community and they are all a valuable part of our history.
We plan to launch our Coming Out Stories page on October 11, 2021 — Coming Out Day. First celebrated in 1988, October 11th is National Coming Out Day, a day to celebrate our coming out stories, and also a day to advocate for a world where everyone feels safe and free to live their authentic lives.
If you would like to be part of this project here are the details:
Record a short video (1-5 minutes) wherein you share:
Your name (not necessarily your full name)
Your identity (for example, I am a trans, non-binary person)
The year you came out
And any details you’d like to share about your story
Send an email to scott@ourspectrum.com that includes your video as an attachment, or that includes a link to download your video from a Dropbox, Google Drive, or similar.
Before you agree to participate here are some things to consider:
Coming out is always an extremely personal and individual process. 2SLGBTQ+ people frequently come out many times over the course of their lives, sometimes even daily.
You are the only person who really knows if and when it’s the right time to come out, how, and to whom. By sharing your coming out story on video and allowing it to be part of this project you will be forever out to the world. Anyone might potentially see or share your story.
Be sure to consider your personal safety and well-being before agreeing to be part of this project. If you are dependant on someone for housing or financial support, how will that person react to your coming out story? How would your employer react?
SPECTRUM encourages anyone who wants to come out to do so, but to do so in their own time and way. This project may not be for everyone.
If thinking about your coming out story or the process of making a video about it is difficult, you should consider talking about it with a safe person you know or perhaps a counsellor. You could connect with the OK2BME program at KW Counselling Services to find a counsellor.
Tips for Making Your Video
If you are ready to be part of the project, great! Here are some tips to consider when making your video.
Do so in a quiet place, preferably indoors. The sounds of people talking in the background or outdoor nature noises might distract from your story.
Do so in good quality lighting.
Consider what can be seen in your background. Is there anything that you would not like people to see or that might reveal your location?
Please record your video in a horizontal format. If you’re using a smartphone, simply flip it horizontally.
Examples of don’t (record vertically) versus do (record horizontally)
Co-Facilitator, Networking Group for Young 2SLGBTQ+ Professionals
Part-time, Contract
SPECTRUM, Waterloo Region’s Rainbow Community Space
Posting Date: August 25, 2021
Closing Date: September 19, 2021
Thanks to a grant from the Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation and the Uvaru Community Fund, SPECTRUM is able to fund two co-facilitators to run a new pilot social group for young 2SLGBTQ+ professionals aged 25-40.
This will be a pilot project for one year with the potential for the group to continue based on its success.
Each facilitator will work three hours per month; two hours to run the group itself, and one hour for prep and evaluation.
$30/hour, three hours per month, 11 months
Pay will be by cheque, once per month
Reporting to our Project Coordinator (or designate), the co-facilitators will work together to facilitate a two-hour group every month at a different Waterloo Region restaurant. The facilitators will pick a location for each month and work with the venue to book a reservation and plan menu options within our budget. The facilitators will work to encourage discussion and networking with the goal of an increased sense of belonging and social inclusion for participants (Young 2SLGBTQ+ adults aged 25-40).
Qualifications:
Must be 25 years of age or older
Must be able to commit to working one night per month
Must have access to reliable transportation within Waterloo Region
Must identify as 2SLGBTQ+
Excellent communication skills
Experience facilitating groups
Must have a successful police check for the vulnerable sector that is no more than six months old.
Group Details:
For up to 15 participants
The first dinner for September 24, 2021 will be held at Waterloo Brewing and facilitated by our Acting Executive Director.
Monthly thereafter, the co-facilitators will work with the group participants to select a dinner from a local restaurant
The co-facilitators will encourage participants to complete our online evaluation survey after each monthly event.
The co-facilitators will compile the evaluation results for analysis by SPECTRUM staff.
Co-facilitators may contribute to final grant report for the KWCF.
SPECTRUM is seeking approximately 12 volunteers who are willing to be interviewed on video to share their lived experience as 2SLGBTQ+ people. The content will be used for a variety of purposes including use in our 2SLGBTQ+ cultural competency training sessions, and for sharing on social media and our website.
Each interview will take approximately 60-90 minutes.
Interviewees will need to sign a waiver giving SPECTRUM permission to use the video content.
Interviewees need to be aged 18+.
Interviewees need to be residents (or former residents) of Waterloo Region (Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and the townships).
Interviewees will receive an honorarium of $100 as thanks for their participation.
Filming will take place at Skylight Productions 1440 King St N, St. Jacobs, ON N0B 2N0
Filming will take place September 10-12, 2021. You will need to be available on one of those dates.
The interviews will be wide-ranging, covering things like coming out stories, homo/bi/transphobia, Pride celebrations, chosen family and friends, 2SLGBTQ+ pop culture, intersectionality, etc. We plan to use clips from the interviews as examples in our training and education programs and to share on social media to help the broader community understand the experiences and needs of 2SLGBTQ+ people in Waterloo Region.
If you are interested in participating please connect with us at info@ourspectrum.com and provide the following:
Name and pronouns
Your age
Film yourself reading the paragraph below
Attach the video to your email or provide a link where we can download the video from a Dropbox, Google Drive, or similar
Script for Submission Video
SPECTRUM is Waterloo Region’s Rainbow Community Space. Their vision is of an inclusive community where all LGBTQ2+ individuals are welcomed, celebrated, and supported as their authentic selves. Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her ongoing mission, to explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.
We are especially interested in proposals from Black and Indigenous artists in Waterloo Region who have lived experience as a member of LGBTQ2+ communities.
We are looking for proposals that explore intersectionality of identities, and the vibrancy of LGBTQ2+ culture.
Proposals should be bright and welcoming to all people.
The dimensions of the wall are approximately 10-12′ high x 25′ wide
Submissions are due by August 10, 2021
We expect the work to be completed in September 2021 (COVID-permitting)
Artist honourarium is $5,000 and supply costs are a maximum of $500.
An image of the mural will be used to create postcards, stickers, and t-shirts that will be sold to celebrate SPECTRUM’s 10th anniversary in 2022. The proceeds of sales of these items will be divided between SPECTRUM and the artist. This revenue will go towards the ongoing rent and maintenance of SPECTRUM’s space to ensure that we continue to be able to provide a welcoming space for years to come.
SPECTRUM Launches Survey To Help Inform Transgender Self Harm, Abuse, Suicide Reduction Tool Kit
Thanks to a grant from the Canadian Women’s Foundation SPECTRUM Waterloo Region’s Rainbow Community Space in conjunction with Wisdom2Action (W2A) have launched a community survey to help inform the creation of a tool kit for the transgender community aimed at the reduction of gender based violence that lead to abuse, self harm and suicide. Please help us to make this a highly successful project that can greatly benefit our community by participating in our online survey. Please click here for more details and to participate. Thank you for your support.
