Gender Diversity Awareness Week is coming to Humboldt from Mar. 27-Apr. 2. The proclamation was declared at the city council meeting on Mar. 14.
Mar. 30 saw the proclamation signed at City Hall with members of the Humboldt chapter of PFLAG; Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
Chapter president, Sarah Miller, has been writing to council for the last three years to advocate for the awareness week to be held in Humboldt.
The week brings awareness to transgender members of the Humboldt community and PFLAG president, Sarah Miller, wants everyone to use that time to reflect on their own knowledge and tolerance of transgender issues.
“I think of it more as a self awareness and self reflecting week.”
Diversity of gender is anything on the outside, the binary designations of male and female, says Miller.
“It could be transgendered, cis-gendered, it could be anyone who wants to crossdress. Even someone who is classified as female who doesn’t want to be classified as female.”
Miller has been the driving force behind getting the proclamation to city hall for the last three years. With her son coming from a same sex relationship, she wanted to make sure that Humboldt is a safe and accepting place for her son to grow up.
“For Humboldt to be open and recognizing of these different gender types, it creates more of an awareness within the community, more conversation and allows for that safe and open communication between members of the community and members of the gender diverse community.”
Through the PFLAG group, Miller has met many students from surrounding high schools who do identify as transgender. Students at Humboldt Collegiate Institute have pushed for a Gay/Straight Alliance in their school, which Miller says the community wants, especially with the city supporting this awareness week.
“For me, that means the community is open to it, so why isn’t the school where most of these students are that may struggle with these issues, why don’t they have this same inclusiveness?”
Humboldt Mayor, Malcolm Eaton, applauds the work of Miller and the PFLAG group saying that their work towards a diverse community fits the Our Humboldt goals of being a safe and caring community.
“We want to celebrate the diversity of the community and we want to support a safe environment for people in our community.”
Having a support in place in Humboldt shows that there are people here who need that support, says both Miller and Eaton. Transgender people are living in rural places and do not just live in places like Vancouver, says Miller.
Meetings are held in the United Church once a month and is used as a safe place where the community can support the group when funds are scarce, says chapter member, Rev. Brenda Curtis.
We cannot always provide money, says Curtis, but they can provide the space free of cost.
“It’s not always convenient to meet at a restaurant over coffee where there’s other people talking, especially when you’re dealing with sensitive issues.”
It is a small group in Humboldt but there are those who identify on the gender spectrum differently than just gay or straight.
Curtis remembers a day when Humboldt was less able to talk about gender identity and LGBTQ issues. Especially when her own kids were in school, there were people who went along the spectrum but did not have any kind of support in Humboldt.
Curtis hopes that the Humboldt chapter will be the start of more support for diversity in Humboldt and area, especially within local high schools.
The awareness week will inspire all communities in Saskatchewan to talk about issues, opportunities to educate about gender diversity, and celebrating tolerance and diversity in our community, says Curtis.
“We do have people here in our community who are challenged by issues related to gender diversity.”
Rural support groups do have challenges that other urban groups do not, agrees Curtis.
Humboldt is considered an urban centre but still has that rural mentality.
“You have to be sensitive about where people are in their awareness and understanding and their willingness to be tolerant and understanding,” says Curtis.
Miller is very sensitive to those different levels of awareness which makes her a good leader, says Curtis. Rural groups need that tolerance of other peoples’ tolerance levels and Miller has that, Curtis says.
Miller encourages everyone to attend a PFLAG meeting since it is for both members of the sexually diverse, gender diverse, and allied community.
