Resources

The Positive Spaces Initiative Starter Kit was designed by OCASI in 2009 and updated in 2014 and 2018 (English version) with the intention of supporting settlement agencies in the beginning phases of creating Positive Spaces. Specifically tailored to the settlement sector in Ontario, it contains five fact sheets and five stories drawn from interviews with LGBTQ+ newcomers, staff and allies who participated in the Untold Stories Project. 

The Domino Project is a peer led initiative for and by Black LGBTQIA+ youth (16-29 years old) in Toronto. In May 2020, the Domino project introduced the Domino Table Talk, an online discussion series, to understand how COVID-19 affected the daily lives of young Black Queer and Trans people who accessed their program. This report summarizes the experiences of the participants, who identified mental health and well-being, access to health care, social connections, safety, employment, income security, and transportation as the main areas of their lives affected by the pandemic. 

Creating Awareness and Understanding of the Transgender Community is an educational video created by the Greater Sudbury Police Service in partnership with TG Inner selves. Lesson plan, PowerPoint, and speaker's notes also available. 

Note: This video uses the term "sexual identity" to refer to "sex." In other contexts, the term "sexual identity" is often used to mean "sexual orientation." 

Abstract

The settlement services sector in Toronto, Canada, has faced difficulties in responding to lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) immigrant youth in ways that respect their specific experiences. One way agencies have taken up this challenge in Toronto has been to develop LGBTQ-specific settlement services. Housed within a diverse range of organisations, these services are intended to engage and support LGBTQ immigrant youth. In this article, we report on evaluation research conducted with LGBTQ immigrant young people from Griffin Centre’s reachOUT Newcomer Network where we asked about their experiences accessing settlement services in Toronto. Our findings suggest that LGBTQ immigrant youth are deeply influenced by intersecting identities linked to racialization, sexuality, gender identity, education, employment, and immigration status. Participants expressed overwhelming interest in accessing support, but remain disconnected from settlement services. A reconceptualization of LGBTQ settlement services within a framework of hybridity that challenges essentialism and neo-colonialism would improve service delivery. This shift would allow for more integrated settlement services that acknowledge LGBTQ newcomer youth and their experiences of (un)belonging.

This is the complete list of terms and definitions used in the OCASI Positive Spaces training modules.