In January, we put out a survey to QTBIPOC youth in order to improve our programming.
Respondents said that in order to feel safe in a queer space, they need to see QTBIPOC representation in the staff members of the organizing body, and they need to see that the organization has an active commitment to QTBIPOC communities.
A few quotes that stood out to us are:
“I don’t like to engage with LGBTQ programming that isn’t explicitly centred on racialized queer/trans people.”
“I’m not publicly out and I fear who I will see in the events as I’m active in the community.”
“I felt like we aren’t even considered let alone met. Performative allyship is how it feels.”
We are committed to working to improve wellbeing for QTBIPOC youth, and are dedicated to making sure we implement the following recommendations:
Ensure safety and confidentiality at all events by creating new policies and practices that are communicated to participants and community
Have consistent QTBIPOC-specific programming that is run by QTBIPOC and focus QTBIPOC experiences in general programming
Create and implement new policies which ensure a safe way for participants to provide feedback and/or complaints to keep Speqtrum accountable
As a queer and trans focused community program, we want to make sure we are always working to address the needs of all queer and trans folks.
We want to thank all the folks who participated in our survey to help us improve our services. We know that providing feedback is emotional labour, and we appreciate the work that folks have done for us.