Peer mentorship program commencing for trans youth in Regina

Cat Haines says she did not see many trans people when she was growing up in Regina. Now she is starting Into the Streets, a mentorship program for trans feminine youth, to help the next generation.

"Within Regina, there's still a big lack of visibility of transgender communities, especially trans women and girls. There are huge levels of discrimination and harassment," the 36-year-old said.

"There's employment and housing discrimination, which again affects the social determinants of health. This program provides them with an opportunity to find and use their voice, and power to make change in their communities."

The program will also help trans girls and women build skills to boost their employability, Haines said.

Local activists are facilitating this peer mentorship program with administrative and fiscal support from Ivy+ Dean Consulting and UR Pride Centre for Sexuality and Gender Diversity. It will pair up to five youth aged 15 to 25 with experienced mentors.

"The anchor peer mentor will be a trans feminine person in the city who is an experienced community advocate or organizer or leader."

Haines said a diverse range of mentors will change "the constrained view of how trans women should look or act," and break barriers to inclusivity.

Haines said the name, Into the Streets, is inspired by the gay movement in the 1970s, which rallied around the slogan, "Out of the closest, into the streets."

She said trans women and girls still experience high levels of harassment, discrimination and violence.

A report by Egale Canada Human Rights Trust details how lesbian, bisexual and transgender women, as well as gender diverse and two-spirit people, encounter discrimination, stigmatization and violent experiences "at disproportionately higher rates than their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts."

"One of the ways this program addresses that is through building intergenerational communities. Though it's a small cohort, through community gatherings and public events, it will build networks of self-confidence and resilience," Haines said.

"I hope it would bring the capacity in the community to build the next generation of youth who can take the torch of trans activism."

November Latham, the project manager, said trans misogyny still affects youth in the community and the program will direct them toward action.

She said it will not only provide trans girls with mentors and role models, but also an opportunity to gain vital self and community advocacy skills.

"The experience of transgender folks often is isolating. There aren't many in the previous generation that can be in those mentorship roles and we are trying to bridge that gap," she said.

"We want to improve the world around them and their lives and of future generations."

Latham said the program will host monthly community events, and culminate a series of projects and events hosted by peer mentor pairs during Trans Pride 2023.

The 32-year-old said mentors will receive a $1,000 stipend and $200 sponsorship for their projects and events during Trans Pride in June.

She said they are open for applications until the end of February and hope the pilot becomes an ongoing project.