TL;DR
Featuring Creation Grantees responses from Lajah Warren (respondent), Jess Vossen and Jacob Barry, TransCare+
Details
To highlight the work Creation Grantees are doing in their communities, the Creation Community Grants Team sends out Q&A forms so they can share their experiences creating and carrying out their projects. Today we are featuring responses from Lajah (respondent), Jess, and Jacob, TransCare+.
Community: Online/Ontario
Grant Type: Experiential Learning Funding
Q : Tell us about your group and project!
A : In many indigenous communities, the winter months mark the time for rest, reflection, and learning. So, this collective is running through December- February offering a virtual, low engagement space for Two-Spirit/ Indigiqueer community helpers to have support in their work and focus on their own healing. This collective is based around care and learning. With 7 Two-Spirit/ Indigiqueer youth, we meet for monthly drop ins, monthly workshops, and provide different microgrants to support the community work of each collective member.
“I want to create opportunities for us to learn from one another about the ways we work in our communities to take care of ourselves as community helpers, and to create a sense of belonging with others who understand our identities.”
Q: As the youth running the project, what impact do you hope it will have?
A : My hope is that this collective will create a sense of community among Two-Spirit youth across the country, while providing opportunities of rest and knowledge exchange. I want to create opportunities for us to learn from one another about the ways we work in our communities, to take care of ourselves as community helpers, and to create a sense of belonging with others who understand our identities.
Q : What is something you have learned?
A : Learning from the collective and the speakers has provided me so much insight in how I can continue working as an Indigiqueer person in community settings. As highlighted in one of our workshops, our community work can be seen as kin; as an entity that deserves respect, patience, flexibility, and boundaries. Seeing my work in this way has allowed me to enter this project, as well as my other community work, in a way that honours my wellness. Seeing our work as kin has also allowed me to give autonomy to my projects, which ultimately allowed my work to flourish in ways that I could not expect.
Q: What is one piece of advice you would share with other youth who want to run a project?
A : Move slowly and in relationship! Allowing the project to move slowly has opened my eyes to different insights and opportunities for the group to grow deeper. In a capitalistic society, we feel a constant need to move quickly and meet deliverables right away. In this, we miss a huge opportunity for reflection and integration of the community we are working with. Also, focusing the work on relationship building does not have to be an afterthought, but it can be the fire of the work itself. Our idea for a project is great, but when we collaborate and gather insights with those we work with, it not only makes richer projects, but makes the work easier!
“Seeing our work as kin has also allowed me to give autonomy to my projects, which ultimately allowed my work to flourish in ways that I could not expect.”
