In the vibrant tapestry of the Vancouver community, the Vancouver Canucks are one of many prominent threads, helping weave a story of inclusivity and support. Seeing the blue, white and green jerseys flying around the ice unifies a passionate fan base, bringing together people from all walks of life including the queer, trans, and Two-Spirit community.
Michaël Robach, Director of Development at QMUNITY, an organization providing programs and counseling for queer, trans, and Two-Spirit individuals, says the Canucks' Pride Night is significant province-wide for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
“The Canucks are so central to the B.C. identity, they’re a team your dad watches in the evening, your family goes to the games,” Robach said. “Really thinking about the youth in particular, when you're queer and you’re closeted, coming to watch a team so celebrated within your community, to see them celebrate Pride and to see them organize a Pride Night, and to see them giving and making a donation to support queer programming, it creates safety because it shows youth that they’re leading by example.
The Canucks are becoming a point of reference for how you can be inclusive and how you can create a safe space for people in the community, and just that alone means so much.”
Through Robach’s three years with the organization, donations from the Canucks have helped the QMUNITY youth program grow from one person to three full-time staff. What started out as supporting events and activities, has grown to making significant strides in their counseling program.
They have different streams of counselling through the program, prioritizing access to youth. The counselling program runs based on individual and corporate giving and prior to working with the Canucks, practicum students and other staff helped provide support.
“The emotional journey of navigating being queer, coming out, and navigating gender is complicated, it's hard, and it's scary. These services really are life-saving,” Robach said, adding “The fact that the Canucks were able to reduce the wait time for us was mind-boggling.”
The Canucks For Kids Fund has donated over $85,000 throughout the last three seasons.
A portion of the donation QMUNITY receives goes towards reducing wait times in the counseling program and some is allocated to adding staff, who can then in turn help more people.
“Every single staff member meets with families and parents, they help facilitate the drop in, they do one on ones with the youth, and they help facilitate the gender affirming program. There are so many duties performed by each staff on the team that then collectively create that impact to the youth program,” Robach said.
QMUNITY has also become a crucial support system for youth facing homelessness or unsafe living situations due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. They provide mental health support and a place for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth to spend time with their peers who may be going through something similar. Robach says many kids create friendships within QMUNITY that are lasting, allowing them to grow their network and feel more supported.
The group will also have a booth set up on the concourse along with other organizations supporting 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
For more information or counselling services, you can find QMUNITY online at www.qmunity.ca.
