New 211 Support Line for the 2SLGBTQ+ Community

Written by Glynnis Lieb, Executive Director , Institute for Sexual Minority Studies & Services (iSMSS)

The narrative about the 2SLGBTQ+ community being more likely to struggle with mental illness, addiction, and suicide is well-known. While it is true that this community experiences higher rates of all these struggles than the average population, let it not be misunderstood why. This community experiences higher rates of mental illness, addiction, suicide, poverty, under employment, homelessness, social isolation and many other challenges. But this is not because there is anything lacking in the members of this community. Rather, it is due to the stigma, discrimination and rejection that they experience from other people.

Great strides have been made here in Edmonton and around Alberta in the last couple of years towards understanding the diversity of the 2SLGBTQ+ community and, with that, understanding the diversity of the experiences that members of this community have in life. The Gay Rights movement has seen extraordinary success in the past half century. But that success, though born on the backs of the most marginalized members of this community, has not been enjoyed by them. The discrimination, transphobia, racism, and misogyny directed towards QTBIPOC members of this community has not only been from the general population but from within this community as well.

The Living Hope Suicide Prevention Initiative was introduced in Edmonton at a pivotal time. A time when the above realizations were being made unignorable through the efforts of the exhausted and exasperated QTBIPOC (queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, and people of colour) community to fight for social gains that their own hard work had won for the broader 2SLGBTQ+ community. 

Through its identification of the 2SLGBTQ+ community having heightened risk of experiencing suicide and subsequent partnership with 2SLGBTQ+ serving organizations such as the Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services (iSMSS), AltView, the LGBTQ Wellness Centre and the Edmonton 2 Spirit Society, among others, Living Hope agreed to prioritize the development of tangible suicide prevention supports for this community.

One such support is the creation of a specially dedicated 211 Support Line for 2SLGBTQ+ people. This was motivated by feedback from the community about the fears they have of seeking support services due to experiences with homophobia, transphobia, misgendering and other derogatory behaviors. This support line was the brainchild of Neil Salsbury, a long time member of the iSMSS Executive Committee. Its purpose is to ensure that queer and trans people can call a mental health support service without fear that they will have to explain themselves, justify their existence in order to receive service, or not receive proper service because of misunderstandings or discrimination.

When approached, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Edmonton Chapter enthusiastically agreed to support the development of this service. Subsequently, CMHA, Living Hope, and a variety of representatives from mental health and 2SLGBTQ+ serving organizations have collaborated to develop basic awareness training for all CMHA 211 Support Line volunteers and staff as well as extended training for the staff and volunteers who will serve on this dedicated line.

This training includes basic awareness training about the 2SLGBTQ+ community including awareness of contemporary language, proper use of pronouns and recommended service providers and resources. It also includes education about the history of queer and 2 Spirit Indigenous peoples on this land, the impacts of colonization as well as anti-racism training.

The training is currently being developed with the hope that staff and volunteers will receive it over the upcoming winter months and that this dedicated support line will be open to the public early in 2021.