Full Day Conference - Rainbow Health Ontario

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Friday, March 11, 2016
Full Day Schedule
Note: Simultaneous Translation will be provided at all plenaries and one session in each time slot.
Traduction simultanée sera offerte à toutes plénières et un session par créneau horaire.
7:00 am – 3:00 pm Registration
7:45 – 8:30 am Breakfast
8:00 am – 11:00 am Exhibits
9:00 – 10:30 am Concurrent Sessions
11:00 am – 2:30 pm Lunch & Closing Plenary
(Simultaneous Translation provided)
Queer, Non-binary and Trans Youth:
Contemporary Canadian Issues and Perspectives
Dîner et séance plénière de clôture
(service de traduction simultanée au besoin)
Adolescents queer, non binaires et trans :
perspectives et enjeux contemporains au Canada
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
F1: AM
Format: Research Soundbyte
1. How do Two-Spirit People
Understand Mental Health? Results
of a Community Based Study
Presenter:
Margaret Robinson, Mi’kmaq scholar, Lennox
Island First Nation, Researcher in Residence,
Indigenous Health, Ontario HIV Treatment
Network, Affiliate Research Scientist, Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario
Indigenous people who are also members
of sexual and/or gender minorities (i.e., twospirit people) live with numerous intersecting
oppressions that adversely impact our health.
Increasingly, mental health practitioners and
community workers are encouraged to adopt
9:00 AM – 10:30 AM a culturally-based treatment approach with
Indigenous clients, yet little is known about twospirit culture or two-spirit perspectives on mental
health. This research sound byte will present
results from a community based research project
that used qualitative data from 21 two-spirit
people people in Ontario. Methods will be shared
during the session. Interviews were transcribed
and analyzed using an innovative method of
Indigenous analysis based on the traditional
medicine wheel and the seven Grandfather
Teachings (Humility; Honesty; Respect; Courage;
Wisdom; Truth; Love). This presentation will help
ground efforts to improve services for two-spirit
people.
Learning Objectives:
1. Learn how two-spirit people define their own
identity and frame mental health in the context
of their own lives.
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3. Animal-Assisted Interventions for
LGBTQ Health
2. Learn which practices two-spirit people identified as
supporting good mental health.
3. Understand how two-spirit perceptions of identity
and mental health fit within the context of Indigenous
culture more broadly.
Presenter:
Melissa Marie Legge, PhD Candidate, School of Social
Work, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
2. Filtered Out: LGBTQ Parents Engage
with Special Needs Service Systems
Using ethnographic methods, this study started from
the everyday work LGBTQ parents of children with
‘special needs’ do to secure services for their children.
A critical approach to intersectionality was employed
to consider how certain parents, children, and families
are constructed as “different” or “not fitting” in particular
settings and contexts. Fifteen parents and six key
informants were interviewed, all of whom were based
in the Greater Toronto Area. Methods used were drawn
from institutional ethnography (Smith 2005) and discourse
analysis (Gee, 2005; Riessman, 2008). Study findings
will be shared during the session. The findings have
implications for service users, researchers, and providers
of special needs service systems, particularly those who
want to make special needs service provision accessible
and responsive to all.
Despite the need for ongoing research on animalassisted interventions (AAI) in social work practice,
the evidence presented in the existing literature
overwhelmingly supports their effectiveness. There are
four categories of the documented therapeutic benefits
of AAI for service users in a therapeutic context, which
are: (1) effects on loneliness, (2) socializing effects,
(3) motivating effects, and (4) physiologic and calming
effects (Fine, 2010). There is scant literature that focuses
on LGBTQ populations, but in a study conducted by
Putney (2012), older lesbians affirmed the importance
of their relationships with OTH animals, indicating that
they were non-judgemental and offered steadiness
and consistency. Drawing on the literature, personal
experience as a social service provider engaging in
AAI with service users, as well as two years’ experience
conducting research in the area of animals and social
work, in this presentation I will introduce attendees
to what AAI are, the benefits that they provide for
service users, and in particular, how these beneficial
interventions could be used in conjunction with an
anti-oppressive framework with LGBTQ service users.
Learning Objectives:
Learning Objectives:
Presenter:
Margaret F. Gibson, MSW, PhD, Visiting Professor,
School of Social Work, York University, Toronto, Ontario
1. Learn what animal-assisted interventions are.
1. Increased understanding of LGBTQ parents’
perspectives of special needs service systems.
2. Learn about the benefits and risks associated with
animal-assisted interventions.
2. Increased knowledge of how services are inequitably
distributed along vectors of race, class, gender, and
sexuality.
3. Learn how they can be used in a therapeutic or
supportive setting with LGBTQ service users to
improve health outcomes.
3. Stimulate questioning of how special needs services
could be more accessible and equitable for all
families.
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F2: AM
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3. Discuss ‘lessons learned’ and the unique challenges
of facilitating and planning a rural community based
ongoing/continuous support group, which is constantly
in flux/moving through stages of group development.
Format: Panel
‘Finding True North’: Navigating
Our Way Through Changes in Trans-specific Services Within the Rural F3: AM
Format: Seminar
Communities of Quinte
Panelists:
Quest Community Health Centre:
Carla Vander Voort, Social Worker, Belleville & Quinte
A Model of Community Transgender
West Community Health Centre, Belleville, Ontario;
Care for Transgender Clients of all
Eric Hargreaves, Workshop Facilitator, TRANSforum
Ages
Belleville & Quinte Region, Ontario;
Devon Williams, Community Member, TRANSforum,
Belleville & Quinte Region, Ontario
Presenter:
Within the South-East LHIN, there continues to be a
significant gap in trans-specific services, including access
to primary care and counselling supports. Community
members have long been vocal about these gaps, which
has prompted some change and service development
within the region. One of these notable changes has been
the development of TRANSforum Quinte – a weekly support
and recreation group for trans-identified persons and their
allies. TRANSforum has provided support and services to
individuals from the rural communities of Belleville, Prince
Edward County, Brighton and Quinte West, and is based on
a community development approach. Since its inception,
TRANSforum has run year round. The ongoing nature of this
group has allowed for challenges, celebrations/successes
and lots and lots of change! When we consider the fluidity
of our individual and collective journeys, it is not surprising
that it has been an ongoing challenge to establish a group
environment that is flexible enough to provide ongoing and
continuous support to the community, while maintaining
some level of stability and integrity to the ‘True North’ of
participants and the program. Changes that the program
has had to contend with have been numerous, including
changes in resources, membership, and needs and
priorities of participants.
Learning Objectives:
Carys Massarella, MD, FRCPC, Attending Emergency
Physician, St.Joseph’s Health Care, Hamilton,
Lead Physician, Transgender Care Program, Quest
Community Health Centre, St. Catharines, Ontario
Trans primary care in Ontario has seen some radical
shifts in the last five years. A few clinics have emerged
as regional hubs, and therefore have established
comprehensive primary care approaches to trans
health access, and have a broad sense of how these
demographics are changing as we move towards the
future of trans health. At Quest Community Health Centre,
we have learned that trans health care is not specialized
care; it should be addressed in primary care and should
be a lifelong relationship. We have also seen a dramatic
increase in children and youth coming forward and
identifying their gender as different from what others might
expect. In this session, I plan to discuss the projection of
trans experiences as health care access becomes more
prevalent compared to 10 or 20 years ago, strategies
for effective and affirming support for trans and gender
independent children and youth, demystifying puberty
blockers with practical clinical tools for assessment,
administration, and monitoring, and strategies for
integrating trans care into typical primary care practice.
Learning Objectives:
1. How care can be provided in the community to
transgender clients.
1. Discuss rural community capacity building strategies
utilized in the development services for trans-identified
persons within the Quinte region.
2. A model for primary care of the transgender patient.
3. How to provide care to transgender clients of all ages.
2. Explore and discuss the importance and challenges
of community engagement in the planning and
implementation of programming, within the context of
rural settings.
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F4: AM
F5: AM
Intimate Partner Violence in Lesbian,
Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) Communities
Trans and LGBQ Human Rights in
Ontario: Community Advocacy and
the OHRC’s Mandate, Protections
and Policy, and Recent Legal
Developments
Format: Seminar
Presenters:
Melissa St. Pierre, Post-Doctoral Visitor, LGBTTQI Home
Care Access Project, York University, Toronto, Ontario;
Betty Jo Barrett, Assistant Dean of Academic and
Student Success, Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and
Social Sciences, Associate Professor of Social Work
and Women’s Studies, University of Windsor, Windsor,
Ontario
In this seminar we dare to name the thing that will not
be named - intimate partner violence (IPV) in lesbian,
gay, and bisexual (LGB) communities. We contextualize
our collaborative work by first discussing how we each
came to the field of LGB IPV (violence against women
+ LGB health lens). The methodological, political, and
social challenges involved in doing research in this field
are reviewed, as are the possibilities. For example, there
is a myth that we know nothing about LGB IPV – this is
simply not true (Barrett, 2015). We present findings from
our original research on the prevalence of LGB IPV using
Statistics Canada data where we use an intersectional
framework to examine how sexual orientation intersects
with other identity categories to create differential
vulnerabilities for IPV (Barrett & St. Pierre, 2013). We also
review community-based research on the help-seeking
trends of lesbian and gay survivors (St. Pierre & Senn,
2010). Implications for health and social service providers
as well as researchers are discussed.
Learning Objectives:
1. Identify how LGB IPV is both similar to and different
from violence in heterosexual, cisgender relationships.
2. Learn about estimated Canadian prevalence rates of
LGB IPV.
3. Apply intersectional, anti-oppressive, and LGB
affirmative frameworks to understanding variations in
experiences of IPV within LGB communities.
Format: Workshop
Presenter:
Jacquelin Pegg, Inquiry Analyst, Ontario Human Rights
Commission, Toronto, Ontario
This session will address:
1. The relationships between LGBTQ community
advocacy and the OHRC’s work in advancing human
rights relating to gender identity, sexual orientation,
and gender expression.
2. Current Human Rights Code protections relating to
trans and LBG identities.
3. OHRC policies on sexual orientation, gender identity
and expression, including best practices for inclusion;
confidentiality, information and privacy; coming
out or transitioning; preventing and dealing with
discrimination and harassment; and competing rights
issues.
4. Legal developments of the past few years: decisions
and settlements; the role of policy; how individual
complaints can have a broader public impact.
Learning Objectives:
1. Understand the Code protections for LGBT people,
and how OHRC policies progressively interpret those
rights.
2. Learn how the human rights system, including
different aspects of the OHRC’s mandate, can support
LGBT individuals and community organizations
in advancing and realizing their rights, and the
importance of community engagement to the work of
the OHRC.
3. Hear about recent legal successes relating to sexual
orientation and gender identity and expression, and
how they can be leveraged for broader impact.
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F6: AM
Format: Panel
What Needs to be Done to Advance
the Sexual Health of Gay, Bisexual &
Other Men Who Have Sex With Men?
Panelists:
Barry D. Adam, Distinguished University Professor of
Sociology, University of Windsor, Senior Scientist and
Director of Prevention Research, Ontario HIV Treatment
Network, Windsor, Ontario;
David Brennan, Associate Professor of Social Work,
University of Toronto, OHTN Applied HIV Research
Chair, Toronto, Ontario;
John Maxwell, Executive Director, AIDS Committee of
Toronto, Toronto, Ontario;
Owen McEwen, Director, Gay Men’s Sexual Health
Alliance, Toronto, Ontario
Thirty years of HIV research show that persistently
high rates of HIV require a multi-pronged approach to
the biomedical, social, and psychological syndemics
affecting gay men. This panel reports on a year of efforts
by researchers and ASOs to confront institutional and
structural barriers in advancing gay men’s health to
secure better access to new prevention technologies,
mental health services, community support, and HPV
vaccine. Session participants will be invited to help
strategize ways to make health systems more responsive
to gay men and to allocate resources where they are
most likely to make a difference.
Learning Objectives:
1. Understand cutting edge issues in the advancement
of gay men’s sexual health.
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F7: AM
Forme: atelier
(Presented in French only)
Repenser les approches envers
les communautés LGBTQA
francophones : pourquoi tant évitent
les services francophone et exploration
de différente manière de les rejoindre
Présentateur :
Matt Caron Francino, Coordinateur de service
francophone, Santé arc-en-ciel Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
Les communautés francophones d’Ontario sont diverses,
elles sont composes de gens qui viennent d’Ontario,
d’ailleurs au Canada tandis que les nouveaux arrivants
sont le composant des franco-ontariens qui accroît le
plus rapidement. Chaque personne a une expérience
différente mais un bon nombre des francophones
LGBTQA vont aux agences anglophones pour leurs
services sociaux et soins de santé. Lors de cette
présentation nous discuterons des impacts qui en
découles et de solutions potentiels.
Objectifs d’apprentissage :
1. Meilleur compréhension des gens qui font partie des
communautés LGBTQ franco-ontariennes et de leur
environnement
2. Identifier les barrières d’accès aux services
auxquelles font face les franco-ontariens
3. Apprendre à mieux rejoindre les communautés
LGBTQ franco-ontariennes
2. Better understand the institutional and structural
barriers to improving gay men’s health and bringing
down HIV numbers.
3. Learn about recent initiatives in gay men’s health
promotion and how to become a part of overcoming
barriers.
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CLOSING PLENARY & LUNCH/ DÎNER ET SÉANCE PLÉNIÈRE DE CLÔTURE 11:00 AM – 2:30 PM
Queer, Non-binary and Trans Youth:
Contemporary Canadian Issues and Perspectives
LGBTQ youth are coming out as queer, non-binary and trans at younger ages and experiencing challenges
and opportunities that are different from those of previous generations. In this panel presentation, four dynamic
speakers will discuss the issues, resilience and activism of diverse and marginalized LGBTQ youth. Two
researchers and two youth leaders will highlight knowledge and perspectives focused on LGBTQ youth who
experience greater social exclusion. We will learn about key gaps and barriers to health, policies and programs
that are making a difference, and how to engage the energy and ideas of youth themselves.
Moderator:
Donna Turner coordinates the development and
implementation of communications strategies and
materials for Rainbow Health Ontario (RHO). She is
responsible for the RHO website, social media, and
newsletter. She coordinates the creation of print materials
such as brochures, posters, and postcards and delivers
training. Donna is the RHO lead on youth, tobacco,
and cancer projects. She supports the development of
local networks, events and partnerships in the following
Regions: North Simcoe Muskoka, Central East, and South
East.
Panelists:
Dr. Alex Abramovich has worked in the area of
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning,
and 2-Spirit (LGBTQ2S) youth homelessness for almost
10 years. Alex is a nationally recognized leader in the
area of LGBTQ2S youth homelessness and is one of
few Canadian researchers studying the phenomenon of
queer and trans youth homelessness. Alex completed
his Doctorate at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
(OISE), University of Toronto. His Ph.D. study investigated
homophobia and transphobia in Toronto’s shelter system,
the experiences that LGBTQ2S young people have in
the shelter system, and how broader policy issues serve
to create oppressive contexts for LGBTQ2S youth. He is
currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Addiction
and Mental Health (CAMH), where he is researching
LGBTQ2S youth homelessness and access to mental
health services.
Dr. Elizabeth M. Saewyc, PhD, RN, FSAHM, FCAHS,
is Professor of Nursing and Adolescent Medicine at the
University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Dr. Saewyc
heads the Stigma and Resilience Among Vulnerable
Youth Centre there. She is a Fellow in both the Society for
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Adolescent Health and Medicine, and the Canadian
Academy of Health Sciences. For 20 years, Dr. Saewyc’s
research and clinical practice has focused on how
stigma, violence, and trauma influence adolescents’
health, coping and risk behaviours, and what protective
factors in relationships and environments can foster
resilience among: runaway and street-involved youth,
sexually abused/sexually exploited teens, LGBT
adolescents, immigrants and refugees, and indigenous
youth.
Bridget Liang is a mixed race, queer, transfeminine,
neurodiverse, disabled, fat fangirl. They came into their
queerness in Hamilton Ontario and co-founded RADAR
Youth Group at the LGBTQ Wellness Centre (the Well),
the first queer group in a high school in Hamilton, and
were instrumental in the passing of an equity policy in the
HWDSB. They have worked for a number of queer/trans
organizations and groups over the years both in Hamilton
and Toronto. They have been involved with community
research, workshop and group facilitation, and doing
performance art.
Sonali Patel is a second year student at the University
of Toronto with a passion for equity and inclusivity.
Recognized by Harmony Canada, Sonali consistently
strives to foster a safe and inclusive environment for the
LGBTQ+ community. She successfully spearheaded
campaigns for gender-neutral washrooms, sexual health
education lessons to be more inclusive to the LGBTQ+
population, and for school guidelines to accommodate
transgender and gender non-conforming students in
her high school. Sonali believes it is crucial for LGBTQ+
youth to meet each other, thus she has been involved
in planning events such as Halton Pride and the Halton
Pride Semi Formal. Sonali is constantly involving herself in
projects that will create a more inclusive environment.
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Adolescents queer, non binaires et trans :
perspectives et enjeux contemporains au Canada
Les jeunes LGBTQ affirment leur identité queer, non-binaire et trans à un plus jeune âge. Ils sont confrontés à des
défis bien différents de ceux des générations précédentes. Pour cette table ronde formée de spécialistes, quatre
conférenciers dynamiques discuteront des enjeux, de la résilience et de l’activisme de divers jeunes LGBTQ
marginalisés. Deux chercheurs et deux jeunes leaders d’opinion mettront en lumière les connaissances et les points
de vue de jeunes LGBTQ qui vivent une plus grande exclusion sociale. Nous en apprendrons plus sur les principaux
obstacles et sur les lacunes en matière de santé, de politiques et de programmes qui font une différence, et sur la
façon de mettre à contribution l’énergie et les idées des jeunes eux-mêmes.
Animation :
Donna Turner coordonne la conception et la
mise en œuvre de stratégies et de documents de
communication pour Santé arc-en-ciel Ontario (SAO).
Elle est responsable de noter site Web et de notre
présence dans les medias sociaux et de la préparation
de noter infolettre mensuelle. Elle coordonne également
la production d’imprimes tels que des brochures, des
affiches, des cartes postales et des rapports. Elle dirige
les projets SAO à propos de la jeunesse, le tabagisme
et le cancer. Donna aide à la mise sur pied de réseaux
locaux, d’évènements et de partenariats dans les régions
suivantes : North Simcoe-Muskoka, Centre-Est et Sud-Est.
Nos experts :
Depuis près de 10 ans, le Dr Alex Abramovich concentre ses travaux sur l’itinérance chez les jeunes
lesbiennes, gais, bisexuels, transgenres, queers, en
questionnement et bispirituels (LGBTQ2S). Expert
reconnu à l’échelle nationale de la question des jeunes
itinérants LGBTQ2S, Alex est aussi l’un des seuls chercheurs canadiens à s’intéresser au phénomène de
l’itinérance chez les jeunes queer et trans. Alex est titulaire d’un doctorat de l’Institut des études pédagogiques
de l’Ontario de l’Université de Toronto. Pour la rédaction de sa thèse, il s’est penché sur l’homophobie et la
transphobie dans le réseau des refuges de Toronto, sur
les expériences vécues par les jeunes LGBTQ2S dans
ces refuges et sur la façon dont les enjeux politiques
plus larges entraînent la création de contextes d’oppression pour les jeunes LGBTQ2S. Alex I. Abramovich est
présentement boursier de recherches postdoctorales au
Centre de toxicomanie et de santé mentale (CAMH), où
il poursuit ses travaux de recherche sur l’itinérance chez
les jeunes LGBTQ2S et sur leur accès aux services en
santé mentale.
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Dre Elizabeth M. Saewyc PhD, IA, FSAHM, FACSS,
est professeure en soins infirmiers et médecine pour
adolescents à l’Université de la Colombie-Britannique,
à Vancouver. La Dre Saewyc dirige le Stigma and
Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth Centre, un centre
pour jeunes qui se trouve dans cet établissement
d’enseignement. Elizabeth est fellow de la Society for
Adolescent Health and Medicine et de l’Académie
canadienne des sciences de la santé. Depuis 20 ans,
elle concentre ses travaux et sa pratique sur les effets
de l’ostracisme, de la violence et des traumatismes
sur la santé des adolescents, sur les comportements
adaptatifs ou à risque et sur les facteurs de protection
dans les relations et les environnements susceptibles de
favoriser la résilience chez les jeunes en fugue ou vivant
dans la rue, sur les adolescents agressés ou exploités
sexuellement, de même que sur les adolescents,
les immigrants, les réfugiés LGBT, et sur les jeunes
autochtones.
Bridget Liang est métisse, handicapée, queer,
transféminine, neurodiverse et fat fangirl [fanatique
enthousiaste grosse]. Bridget s’est d’abord affirmée
queer à Hamilton, en Ontario, où elle a cofondé le
groupe jeunesse RADAR (RADAR Youth Group) du
LGBTQ Wellness Centre (« The Well »). RADAR est le
premier groupe queer dans une école secondaire à
Hamilton. Bridget a joué un rôle essentiel dans l’adoption
d’une politique d’équité au district scolaire de HamiltonWentworth. Au fil des années, Bridget a travaillé auprès
d’un grand nombre d’organismes et de groupements queer
et trans, à Hamilton et à Toronto. Bridget a aussi participé
à de la recherche communautaire et à des ateliers, animé
des groupes et évolué dans les arts de la scène.
Sonali Patel est étudiante de 2e année à l’Université
de Toronto. Passionnée par tout ce qui touche l’égalité
et l’inclusion, elle a été reconnue par Harmony Canada
et travaille sans relâche à favoriser un environnement
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sûr et inclusif pour tous les membres de la communauté
LGBTQ+. Sonali a entre autres mis sur pied des
campagnes visant l’aménagement de salles de toilettes
neutres et de cours d’éducation sexuelle plus inclusifs
aptes à accommoder les étudiants transgenres ou de
genre non conforme. Sonali estime qu’il est essentiel pour
les jeunes LGBTQ+ de fraterniser. Dans cette optique,
elle a participé à l’organisation de Halton Pride et de
Halton Pride Semi Formal, deux événements liés à la
fierté gaie dans la région de Halton. Sonali Patel s’engage
régulièrement dans des projets visant à favoriser un
environnement plus inclusif.
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