Do You Mind?

Does the importance of mental health blow your mind? Have you given thought to growing skills and knowledge to become a mental health leader in your community - even designing your very own community mental health project? Is connecting with like-minded queer and trans folks a no-brainer?

Do You Mind?  is a Health Empowerment through Active Leadership (HEAL) program that builds individual and community capacity to respond to community mental health challenges through health promotion strategies that are developed by and for 2SLGBTQ+ people. Through a trauma-informed and intersectional lens, participants engage with a number of sessions focused on 2SLGBTQ+ mental health and community-based health promotion. 

From September to March, for just one hour each week, the program gives participants health literacy, practical skills, and community networks needed to identify and collectively respond to the systemic and structural challenges impacting the health of them and their peers. They will also learn how to connect with others, including community leaders and organizations involved in this work.

Over a range of sessions, participants complete a series of interactive workshops with other community members as well as community leaders to develop a critical understanding of gender and sexual minority health and learn practical strategies for health promotion including storytelling, listening, and community care. 

Upon completion of core training, Do You Mind? participants receive the chance to apply their knowledge and skills by developing their own community mental health promotion projects in partnership with local organizations in their cities/regions. The program will receive $3,000 in funding to support and implement the project!

To kick off the program, participants from Do You Mind? will come together for an online capacity building sessions that will take place over the course of two weekends (September 18, 19, 25, and 26). Upon completing the sessions, participants will continue to meet virtually (at a time and frequency determined by participants) to develop and implement the community health project.

Registration is open for anyone interested in being mental health-savvy knowledge holders and advocates! Click here to sign up! Check out last year’s Do You Mind? project here!

Questions about the program? Contact QC (he/they): qc.gu@ourhealthyeg.ca