News

Queer Migrant Youth Project

The Queer Migrant Youth Project has been launched and is now taking shape with a focus on educating, mobilizing and promoting leadership with queer youth within migrant communities. This youth-led initiative seeks to build a sustained movement that will ensure access to essential services for all queer youth regardless of their immigration status.

An introduction from the site:

"In early June of 2009, the Laidlaw foundation granted a group of young activists the opportunity to start a program for -and by- migrant youth to advocate for migrant rights. Due to the on-going violence facing migrants in the city towards refugee and non-status peoples, many groups have taken a stand against this repression. Communities, grassroots orgs, unions, faith groups schools and families have rallied against the criminalization of people based on their immigration status and have called upon the government to implement a more inclusive system.
But have they?

We are proud to join this movement as queer youth who want to bring issues of violence and discrimination to the table. We understand that to create a safe Toronto for everyone, in where people are not being discriminated based on their sexual orientation, and status, we must educate one another and take action! We know we cannot wait for laws to change, so we are going to do it ourselves. School by school, one by one

Sanctuary Toronto now!

We need your help. Our project is based on an on-going series of educative and interactive (and fun) series of workshops created by us for you. The training and services (and did I mention, honorarium?) that we provide focuses on organizing from the bottom up! With your participation, we hope to create a snowball effect in each of our communities, so that we will understand and collaborate with other queer migrant youth, and specially with those facing the extra-difficult barrier of having no status.

If you are interested in working with us, and are between the ages of 14 to 25, please email us at queermigrantyouth@gmail.com."

Visit the Queer Migrant Youth Project website for more information.