About Pivot
The Pivot program builds individual and community capacity to respond to community health challenges through social justice strategies that impact systems change.
This two-year program commenced in August 2024. Participants engage with sessions on theories of social change, 2S/LGBTQIA+ health issues, social justice, and advocacy. Practical skills are fostered in the areas of project design and management. Participants will also learn from and build connections with local activists and community organizations doing work in this area.
Register for the Pivot Program
Are you ready to disrupt the status quo, shake up the establishment, and be a catalyst for change in your community? QTHC’s community health advocacy program, Pivot, is aiming to change the world one system at a time.
Registration for Pivot is now full. Check back for new program dates.
Program Structure
During the program, participants complete a series of curriculum modules which will be delivered in a hybrid format. Participants choose whether to attend in-person or online. Following the curriculum, participants will move through a project ideation/planning process where they will identify a community health issue and design a project to address it.
The design and planning phase of the program will consist of 6-8 weekly online meetings. QTHC staff will then implement the project in the second year of the program and participants can continue on in an advisory capacity to support project implementation.
Pivot Program Archive
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Pivot Program Archive *
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From the very beginning, Canada has marginalized and exploited Indigenous, Black, and racialized peoples for the benefit of white settlers. Colonialism affected Indigenous communities in particular, disrupting their ways of life, and robbing them of their lands, cultures, and languages.
To this day, the effects of colonialism continue to negatively affect sexual healthcare services for the QTBIPOC community. Queer and trans folks face healthcare providers who refuse to affirm their experiences or understand their unique health needs.
Compounding this problem, Indigenous, Black, and racialized folks face racism from healthcare systems and providers. Folks who embody these vibrant and complex identities ultimately receive inadequate care for their sexual health.
In 2021, the Pivot cohort centered these issues. They connected with QTBIPOC healthcare advocates and organizations to learn more about the problems at hand, and asked the following questions:
How has colonization affected the sexual health of QTBIPOC communities and people?
How does colonization continue to affect sexual health provision for QTBIPOC communities?, and,
What are potential solutions for improving access to sexual health provisions for QTBIPOC communities?
Drawing on historical and contemporary examples, the community members interviewed in these videos share their thoughts on how QTBIPOC folks are most affected by Canada’s colonial past, and reflect on what solutions for decolonizing sexual healthcare might look like.
This project was created by participants of the 2021-22 Pivot program, a community health leadership program giving 2SLGBTQIA+ folks the skills and connections to organize and create systems change.
If you have any other questions, please contact QTHC’s Education and Advocacy Manager, QC (he/they) at qc.gu@ourhealthyeg.ca
