With Pride Month almost at a close, communities have come together in Waterloo Region to celebrate and reflect.
The OK2BME program operated by Camino Wellbeing + Mental Health offers supportive and confidential services for 2SLGBTQIA+ children, teens and adults, as well as those who wonder about their sexuality or gender identity.
Services include counselling, (individual, partnered, family), youth groups and education.
Running for almost 20 years, Tracy Elop, Camino’s Executive Director, says OK2BME started at a time when there weren’t that many services for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
“We recognized the need for those services. The program provides support to members of the rainbow community and their families," Elop said.
"We try to walk alongside families and create safe environments for them.”
The 2SLGBTQIA+ community often faces higher stress and mental health issues due to stigma and discrimination. Elop says it is important to create a welcoming community where everyone feels a strong sense of belonging.
“Even 20 years ago, it was less safe than it is today. We know now that people still don’t feel safe being their authentic true self. You just have to look at the need for the services,” Elop said.
Elop said the number of hate incidents targeting the rainbow community, went up 50 per cent last year.
“And already we’ve had nine this year. This speaks to the need for having an environment where people can come and feel safe as they explore who they truly are and disclose who they truly are. We want to make sure that they are emotionally well as they go on their journey,” Elop said.
According to Elop, suicide rates in the rainbow community are higher than others.
“It is so important that the services are there. The OK2BME program provides clinical support for those who need it, who have mental health challenges in a really sensitive way and in a safe space,” Elop said.
“We also offer services for youth who are starting to question, who are wondering about their gender identity and their sexuality. We help them work through that. And we help bring young people together.”
Elop feels Pride festivals offer safe spaces to gather, where people respect each other, and believe they can be whoever they are.
"There is a real joy that comes from that. One program we have for our youth is a Pride Prom. Often, for someone who is gay or lesbian, attending a regular high school prom, and bringing their same sex partner, they are 'othered' in that.
"When you come to a Pride Prom, there is no 'othering'. It is just a complete and utter celebration of who people are."
For Elop, Pride is something to be witnessed.
"It is about celebrating diversity and admiring the people who have come forward and said, in a fairly difficult context sometimes, this is who I am, and I have something to add that other people can’t add. And our community will be better off because of me," she said.
The OK2BME program offers education in schools with students about age-appropriate concepts as well as other public spaces to help raise awareness.
"We also offer services to organizations and businesses that wonder how to be more inclusive. This includes talking to people about the use of pronouns, having gender neutral bathrooms, or the use of inclusive language," Elop said.
For more information about the OK2BME program, visit here.
"We are really excited about the OK2BME program and about Pride month. This is an opportunity to celebrate the queer community. Our community is better when we are open," Elop said.
"Pride Month is a month where we can stop and reflect on the harms that we might be causing, think about how we can do things differently, how we can make some small changes that will have a huge impact to the people in our community who sometimes feel excluded."
With offices throughout the region including Cambridge, Camino Wellbeing + Mental Health unites the work of Carizon Family and Community Services, KW Counselling Services and Monica Place all under one umbrella to create a more cohesive system that brings greater impact to the community's growing wellbeing and mental health needs.
