Across the city, support programs and resources for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer community continue to see growth in their cause.
Lethbridge College was drafted into this union when they created their own Gay Straight Alliance.
There have been clubs of a similar nature at Lethbridge College, but the GSA took a year-long hiatus after the previous group had little success in providing a sense of community.
It was due to the previous club’s tight knit characteristics and lack of interest in expansion, making it difficult and uncomfortable for newcomers, which led to their disbandment.
This is when GSA President Mitchell Sabourin and a couple friends saw the perfect opportunity to resurrect the alliance to shed light on a number of topics and create a community inclusive of everyone.
“I opened this club for anyone to come and chat. The college didn’t have anything like this and I see a lot of ignorance around the college sometimes, so I felt this was a good way to combat such,” Sabourin said.
They intend to confront this bigotry by hosting events on campus or in the community in hopes of opening dialogues in order to inspire change.
“We want to raise awareness on different issues surrounding identity, sexuality and create a safe space where people don’t have to be afraid when they have nowhere else to go,” Sabourin said.
A monumental shortage and dire need of establishing more social support programs is a view of the GSA which is shared across the Oldman River with PRIDE at the University of Lethbridge.
As society continues the path to tolerance, the feelings of danger for LGBTQ slowly fade, but Joselyn Plumridge, former PRIDE President stresses vigilance because discrimination has a revamped style.
“Opinion has shifted in favour of acceptance towards gay and trans people, so you’re not as likely to run into people who are loudly and proudly homophobic or transphobic. What you’re seeing now is a more insidious form, making homophobia and transphobia harder to detect,” Plumridge said.
These less direct, micro aggressions towards the LGBTQ community remain quite widespread amongst Lethbridge and according to Plumridge, are in part, results of the large religious population.
“Lethbridge existing in the Bible belt is a huge issue. People coming from elsewhere are very aware of the reputation of this part of the country and so, many new residents are nervous about seeking out support networks because they don’t want to expose themselves unnecessarily,” Plumridge said.
The absence of dependable, trustworthy and caring associations for LGBTQ youth, is an issue OUTreach President Annelies van Oers not only continues to see amidst students, but in the health care system as well.
“We have stories from folks within southern Alberta who come out to their doctors. Then, those doctors actually report their coming out to parents or to faith-based communities,” van Oers said.
OUTreach is a non-profit society, which works with organizations in Lethbridge and the surrounding areas to respond to needs of LGBTQ regarding hate free, safe and comfortable environments.
Van Oers was thrilled learning the GSA made its return to Lethbridge College after its short interval of absence, remaining optimistic and enthusiastic towards collaboration.
“It’s super exciting and we work a lot in partnership with other groups, it’s very important to us,” van Oers said. “We hope OUTreach can do some work with this club.”
The Gay Straight Alliance Club is eager to host their first event at the end of the semester.
