TG Innerselves is expanding its services thanks to a $400,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
Vincent Bolt, education manager for TG Innerselves, said the grant will be used to fund two positions with the organization: his own, as well as a client services director.
The money will also be used to reach new audiences TG Innerselves has not been able to speak to since the organization was founded.
“It's a dream come true for us,” Bolt said. “It means we can continue our work in a sustainable way. When you don't have a budget, it's difficult to get in a car and drive to a place like Marathon to provide education.”
TG Innerselves is about changing lives, Bolt said. It's about helping people who are still struggling, and being there for the individuals and their families. It's about making schools safer, because according to statistics, three per cent of high school students in Canada identify as trans, Bolt said.
“The numbers are there, and they're growing.”
Bolt's duties include travelling across Northeastern Ontario and speaking to high schools and elementary schools, to service providers, and to train staff at such places as women's shelters and mental health centres to help them develop their policies and procedures to make their spaces more inclusive for trans clients.
The director of client services will meet one on one with trans clients who are looking for support, as well as with parents who have children who have come out.
“Often, parents are looking for support as well,” Bolt said. “They'll meet with the director and learn what to expect. A lot of parents go through a grieving process, because they often feel like they're losing their child.”
Maxim Jean-Louis, vice-chair of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, said TG Innerselves' funding submission was compelling.
“We are looking for impact in the communities, and I have no doubt you make that impact,” Jean-Louis said at the press conference on June 30. “You have a lot of work to do over the next four years, so go out and do the very best you can.”
Funds will also be used to run a fall workshop called Gender Journeys, an eight-week program that goes through the steps of transition, Bolt said.
“This money is giving us the opportunity to do more community involvement,” Bolt said.
The group is bringing in for example, we will have an event coming up during Pride Week, where we will bring in a trans youth, Adam McMaster, a transgender youth who actively advocates for trans youth rights. McMaster will be speaking and sharing his love for singing and writing music. For more information, visit tginnerselves.com
