Windsor Essex Trans Support opens first standalone transgender support centre in Ontario

Two years ago JayceCarver was working out of her car in Windsor-Essex trying to help provide supports for transgenderpeople living in the region.

Now Carver is part of a team that's opened a standalone, drop-intransgendersupport centre in Windsor, Ont. the first of its kind in the province.

"I think our community is saying that they're ready to be visible, that they're tired of being in the shadows," saidCarver, who is the executive director of Windsor EssexTrans Support.

People that attend the centre will have access to a food bank, clothing donations and support services that are client-centred.

Core location

The office is located in Windsor's core with easy access to a hospital, transitional stability centre, the Windsor pride office, and other LGBTQorganizations.

"Sometimes trans identified people don't feel comfortable accessing those services independentlyso with having somewhere here full time we can assist them," said Carver.

Carverremembers the early days sitting in a meetingas a transgender support worker, with 10 people in attendance. Now she says there's times when she's surrounded by 40 to 50 people.

Twenty people came through the centre when it opened this week.

"That all depends on what theirgoals are," said Carver, when asked what kind of supports are offered.

Filling out documents, finding safe shelter and arrangingtransitioning supports are some of the services that the centre will provide to clients.

Funding model

Carver said that some programing isfunded through a Windsor Pride FestivalTrillium grant while other supports are paid forby private funding partners and donations from the public.

"There is really no government funding right now, we're not eligible until a year of incorporationwhich is coming up," said Carver, who said it costs about $40 a day to operate the centre.

"I don't think $40 is too much to bring people out of isolation and bring the suicide rates down."

Carver is currently the only full-time worker with a part-time facilitator also on staff who is part of specific youth programrun out of the centre.

"The majority is volunteer because we don't have the funding to pay staff," said Carver, who said there are 15 people signed up to help.

• W.E. Trans Support helps people struggling through transition

"They're doing amazing work in the community and now with their new centre open it's just going to expand even more," saidDavid Lenz, President of Windsor Pride Fest, who calls the centre revolutionary.

"It just shows that we are making a huge difference in this community."

Lenzsaid the next step for LGBTQsupport centres is to continue working together to improve community needs.

The Windsor Pride Fest has a three year Trillium grant that they're able to partner with W.E. Trans to ensure the programming fits demands.

W.E Trans Centre Programming

Here's what is being offered at the centre:

• Clothing donations
  • Carver said this is one of the largest expenses for people transitioning as they purchase new clothes that match the gender identity they will present as
• Food bank
  • Trans people dealing with food insecurityhave a big barrier when accessing some traditional food banks, according to Carver. They may have to show identification that doesn't match the gender identity they're presenting as. The W.E Transfood bank won't ask for ID.
• Tran Spectrum
  • A peer support group run by trans-identified people for trans-identified people, which Carver said gives people a space to talk openly.
• T 2
  • This group is for friends, families and allies "because they go on a journey of their own," said Carver.
• T-Party
  • A group social that meets once a month that aims to support peoplewho are living in isolation and create a level of comfort for people to be in the community in a group setting.