Totally Outright registration has closed for this program cycle

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Totally Outright is a community health leadership program that equips young queer, trans, and Two Spirit people with the social connections, health knowledge, and promotion skills they need to be health leaders in their communities. The program runs for two years, starting this fall, and aims to harness the cultural knowledge and resilience of queer, trans, and Two Spirit community members by centering their lived experiences in the development and implementation of community-led health responses. Totally Outright focuses on issues regarding sexual and reproductive health!

Program Structure

In the first year, participants will complete a series of curriculum modules which will be delivered in a hybrid format. Participants will be able to 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 then design two separate projects to address it. The first, smaller, project will be completed by February of 2023 while the second project will be completed by February 2024. The design and planning phase of the program will consist of 6-8 weekly online meetings. 

Following completion of the first project, participants can choose to either leave the program or continue into the second year. In the second year, participants will sit on an advisory team which will oversee the implementation of the second project. Project implementation will be led by QTHC staff and any relevant partners. Significant funding has been allocated to support the project!

The program will kick-off with a full weekend of hybrid programming October 15th-16th, 2022. Upon completing these sessions, the participants will continue to meet virtually on a weekly basis to develop and design the community health project. 

Tentative dates for programming in year 1 are as follows:

  • October 15th-16th, 2022: Curriculum Delivery Week 1 in hybrid format (participate in person or online)

  • End of October to December: Weekly virtual meetings for project ideation and design (online only)

  • January-February 2023: Implementation and completion of the first project.

The program’s curriculum covers a range of health issues which disproportionately affect queer, trans, and Two Spirit communities, with local access and system navigation information integrated wherever possible. The curriculum covers two core domains:

Community Health Foundations - This domain covers a range of sexual and reproductive health topics relevant to queer, trans and Two Spirit communities (including sexual and reproductive health) with specific attention paid to how these health topics are influenced by the systems around us. This year, modules include sessions on:

  • Sex and Disability

  • Gender Affirming Care for Gender Expansive Bodies

  • Queer Kinship and Family Choices

  • Exploring Pleasure and Sex

Community-Based Health Promotion - Throughout this domain of the program, participants are introduced to the concept of health promotion, explore their understanding of what constitutes “community”, and are encouraged to link the two, developing a shared definition of community-based health promotion which will guide their learning and efforts throughout the concluding sessions of the program. Participants then engage with local research(ers), community-based organizations, and individuals leading community-based health promotion work in their communities to enhance their understanding of the health gaps, assets, challenges, and opportunities local queer, trans, and Two Spirit people experience. With this enhanced understanding, and the knowledge gained through the first domain of the program, participants complete an activity where they identify and prioritize a number of health challenges they wish to address through the development and delivery of their own self-determined community-based health promotion projects.

For any questions about the program please contact QC (he/they) at qc.gu@ourhealthyeg.

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The QTHC is based in Amiskwaciwâskahikan (ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋᐋᐧᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ) within Treaty 6 territory, a traditional meeting ground and home of the Nêhiyaw (Cree), Denesuliné (Dene), Nahkawininiwak (Saulteaux), Niitsítapi (Blackfoot), and Îyârhe Nakoda (Nakota Sioux), as well as nations not represented by the treaty, and is located in Region 4 of the Métis Nation of Alberta. We commit to engaging in an ongoing process of decolonization, and will strive to conduct our work in an anti-oppressive and anti-racist way, working towards equity, empowerment, and inclusion for all Two Spirit, queer, trans, and non-binary people.