Our Commitment
Accessibility
All workshops and social activities will be held in wheelchair-accessible locations, and have a designated chill space for those needing a break from programming. All Active sessions will be sports and outdoor activities that are accessible, where possible, and open to all skill levels.
All activities will be free of charge, with equipment and materials provided. Bus tickets will be available to participants.
At our online events, participants are welcome to have their camera on or off, communicate through voice or chat, and join or leave as they need. We strive to include closed captioning for these events, and we invite interpreters to our Newcomer Events based on the needs of the participants.
Equity-Based and Anti-Oppressive
We are committed to fostering community-specific programming for historically underserved queer people, including Black, Indigenous and racialized folks, two-spirit folks, newcomers (those new to canada), trans folks, disabled folks, and others. All facilitators will undergo anti-oppression training.
Racism, sexism, transphobia, biphobia, ableism, classism, and bullying are not welcome at speqtrum events.
We recognize that we all come from different places of knowledge and access to knowledge about oppression.; educational materials and support are available from speqtrum staff at all events, and our facilitators are committed to sharing this knowledge and addressing harm in constructive and kind ways.
Accountability
This statement outlines our commitment and your commitment to each other, in order to create spaces in Hamilton for queer and trans young folk that are safe, inclusive, and supportive.
To begin, we want to express our gratitude and respect to those caring for and living on this land since time immemorial, the Anishnaabeg, Haudenosaunee, and Neutral peoples, and that this land, their traditional territory, is governed by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Agreement. We recognize that our role as migrants and settlers on this land is to uphold treaty responsibilities, center Indigenous voices/knowledge/needs, and work in solidarity with Indigenous communities.
This is a living document: it is always growing and changing.
We are always learning and, in the words of Maya Angelou, we commit to doing the best we can, until we know better, and when we know better, we do better.
speqtrum belongs to all of us. The programming, resources, and spaces made available through speqtrum are for the use of all young queer and trans folks in Hamilton. If it’s your first time here, or your tenth, we are all equally a part of speqtrum. We strive to make speqtrum as open, transparent, and accountable as possible.
We acknowledge the historical exclusion in queer spaces of queer and trans POC, two-spirit people, queer and trans folks with disabilities, newcomers and anyone else not fitting nonsense ideas of what queer and trans people are supposed to be or look like. We commit to equity and justice in all speqtrum spaces, and we expect everyone else to do the same.
We all have different needs when we come to speqtrum, be they physical, social, emotional or financial. We will support each other so that we all can participate in ways that feel good, safe, and to us. Let your facilitator know if you need anything.
We recognize we all come from different points of knowledge of concepts of oppression and social justice. We commit to supporting each other’s journeys of learning these concepts, and unlearning oppressive ones. In the same vein, racism sexism ableism and transphobia will not be tolerated in speqtrum spaces and will be addressed through our community accountability measures
We commit to being inviting and friendly to anyone attending speqtrum programming.