WHO ARE WE?
TransCare+ is a community-based organization run by and for queer and gender diverse folx. We strive to centre holistic, community-focused, and anti-colonial understandings of care and wellness in a way that is accessible to queer and gender diverse folx of various lived experiences. To do so, we work with queer and gender diverse communities to identify, develop, and provide services and resources that meet the care needs of queer and gender diverse folx across so-called Canada. TransCare+ operates as a knowledge hub, educational platform/service provider, and care collective.
Our Mission
The mission of TransCare+ is to increase knowledge about, access to, and engagement with queer and gender diverse care needs and is further directed at increasing the capacity of queer and gender diverse people both in terms of self-governance and access to knowledge. With community we aim to redefine, re-imagine, and relocate what care is, what it looks like, where it shows up, and who participates, or can participate, in it.
OURVISION
At TransCare+, our vision is for queer and gender diverse folx to have access to information, support, and care that is gender affirming and culturally focused. We envision a holistic approach to and understanding of care that challenges individualized, paternalistic, capitalist, and colonial care frameworks and reimagines what care looks like for queer and gender diverse folx.
Our Values
TransCare+ was founded on the belief that queer and gender diverse folx are most knowledgeable about their own care needs and desires. Within this guiding principle are the following core values that underlie all aspects of how TransCare+ engages with and serves our communities.
Anti-oppression & Intersectionality
Accountability
& Transparency
Community Participation & Collaboration
Advocacy
& Action
Self-determination &
Self-governance
Accessibility
& Inclusion
Our Goals
We Have Three Pillars
TransCare+ operates along three axes: knowledge creation and mobilization, caring connections, and service to the community. At these axes, we aim to mobilize transformative social change by centring community knowledge, fostering collective care based in solidarity, and working towards empowering queer and gender diverse folx to care for themselves and one another in a manner that is both gender-affirming and culturally focused.
Knowledge Creation & Mobilization
We aim fulfill our commitment to uplifting community knowledge through:
-
Arts-based knowledge translation (i.e., graphics, illustrations, video materials, etc.)
-
Sharing community-focused content, stories, and knowledge
-
Developing resources and workshops grounded in community knowledge
-
A virtual library filled with queer and gender diverse authors.
-
A blog dedicated to centering queer and gender diverse folx voices, experiences, and knowledge about topics related to care.
-
A monthly newsletter containing project updates, resources, art, and more.
Caring Connections
We foster collective care and community connection through:
-
Social and educational programming
-
Special events
-
Resource bank and resource navigation
-
One-on-on peer support
-
Mutual Aid
Service to Community
We aim to empower and serve our communities through:
-
Competency and capacity building workshops
-
Educational resources
-
Advisory and consulting services
-
Solidarity work and advocacy campaigning
Get Involved
What We Publish
Our blog, What’s The T*, aims to center and amplify the voices of queer and gender diverse folx. We publish any and all works written or produced by queer and gender diverse folx, including but not limited to: personal narratives, creative fiction, poetry, photography, digital media, opinion pieces, advice pieces, and more. Allies are welcome to write for us as well; however, queer and gender diverse folx will be prioritized.
If you would like to have your writing or art in the blog or have questions, please contact us. Alternatively, submissions are currently being accepted through this form.
Honorarium for Authors and Artists
We offer an honorarium for queer and gender diverse writers and artists who publish on our platform. Please contact us for further details regarding the honorarium process.
TransCare+ recruits volunteers with the intent of broadening and expanding volunteer involvement in the organizations activities and to support our programming initiatives.
Volunteer recruitment priority will be given to folks who identify with the very broad 2SLGBTQIA+ umbrella. Volunteers may be recruited through an interest in specific functions, identified skill(s) that can benefit the organization, or through a general interest in volunteering which will later be matched with a specific function.
No final acceptance of a volunteer shall take place without a specific written volunteer position description for that volunteer. Successful volunteer applicants will receive their own Volunteer Handbook to use as a reference and a guide throughout their time at TransCare+.
Volunteer applicants under the age of 16 are required to provide written consent from their guardian upon acceptance of application.
We ask for a commitment of one year.
Complete the online interest form so our team can review and explore options best suited for you. Accepted volunteers will also be required to complete Volunteer Training and Orientation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do we define care?
TransCare+ takes up care in the most expansive way possible. We recognize care as everything that we do to maintain, continue, and repair our 'world' so that we can live in it as well as possible. We understand care as the practices, rituals, and activities that people engage in to survive and/or thrive.
Though equitable access to gender-affirming and culturally focused healthcare is a priority of ours, we take a holistic approach to care that recognizes the importance of care both inside and outside of institutional spaces.
How do I get involved?
Who is TransCare+ for?
Our mission cannot be achieved alone, our team and broader community is constantly growing. We often post jobs, volunteer positions, research informant call-outs, and writer call-outs on our Get Involved and/or Research page. To keep up to date with all opportunities and call-outs, subscribe to our newsletter.
Fun fact, at TransCare+ we believe in compensating folks for their time, energy, and labour. All opportunities are paid or honorarium-based.
TransCare+ is by and for queer and gender diverse folx. We are for folx of all sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions. We are for queer folx, trans femmes, mascs, non-binary folx, genderqueer and gender outlaws, for Two Spirit peoples, for agender, gender fluid, and all the gender expansive folx in the vastness of gender diversity. We are for fat, Black, Indigenous, POC, disabled, neurodiverse, poor and working class queer and gender diverse folx. We are for sex workers, rural queers, substance users, and kink lovers. We are for all those queer and gender diverse folx past, present, and future, who want to create a better world for our communities.