Moose Jaw Pride has added a few more helpful programs to its list of services, beginning with new volunteer opportunities for anyone across Saskatchewan paired with a new bursary program.
Moose Jaw Pride is now one of the non-profit organizations participating in the Canada Student Service program, where participants under 30 can volunteer and earn up to $5,000 in bursaries for their education costs in the fall.
The program launched in June and is geared towards filling the gap in summer work and scholarship opportunities that many university students are likely experiencing due to COVID-19.
For every 100 volunteer hours completed, participants can collect $1,000, which Pride executive director Taylor Carlson feels is a great intersection between helping with an individual’s finances and also helping the community at large.
"When we're thinking about the community we serve, it's an easy way to bring them into the loop and get some much-needed funds and experience out to those folks, because we know they're struggling just like everyone else," said Carlson. “I think it's great all around, for the person and the community they're working in."
Moose Jaw Pride is equipped to accept around five to 10 volunteers for the new bursary program, said Carlson, but really the limit is defined by how much volunteer work is available at the organization.
It also joins Moose Jaw Pride’s other bursary program, the Trans Hope Fund, which is in its second year of availability.
In partnership with Journey to Hope Moose Jaw and the local branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, the three organizations have made available a pool of funds for transgender and non-binary individuals in need of help accessing services like identification changes and trans-affirming health care, including help with travel costs.
“Unfortunately in Saskatchewan, particularly in small communities, finding trans-affirming health care and supports is quite challenging, so that often requires folks be able to travel a distance to access that care,” said Carlson. “It’s good work to do, because small towns can be hard.”
Both of these bursary programs intersect, in a way, with the launch of Moose Jaw Pride’s new outreach position.
In partnership with OUTSaskatoon and UR Pride in Regina, four peer navigator positions have been created across the province to help provide support for LGBTQ2S+ residents and families in navigating services and resources in their communities.
There will be one peer navigator in Saskatoon, Regina, Moose Jaw and the northern region of the province, as well as opportunities for volunteers across the province to help peer navigators create a network of supports and assets across many smaller, rural communities.
The position in Moose Jaw will be dedicated to providing service to both Moose Jaw and surrounding communities, said Carlson, especially as Pride organizations across Saskatchewan are seeing a real need for supports in rural areas.
“It’s going to be really good. We’ve been doing this kind of work for years as part of the Saskatchewan Pride Network, so to expand it is exciting,” said Carlson. “And it’s a good time to be doing this, as LGBTQ people and other marginalized groups are feeling the effects of COVID a little more acutely, in the sense that they’re more likely to work in industries that have been shut down.”
The four peer navigators will begin offering services in August, which is also when volunteer opportunities with the support program will be available.
For Carlson and all of Moose Jaw Pride, being able to launch these new programs has been a silver lining to the summer, especially after having to cancel Pride Week and other in-person programming over the last few months.
"Any way that we can support the community that we serve, the LGBTQ community but also the community more broadly, that's what we're hoping to do," said Carlson. "It's so important because LGBTQ2S people live here and in communities all over Saskatchewan, [so] let's not forget about each other and support each other."
For those interested in taking part in the student volunteer bursary program, email [email protected].
For more information about the Trans Hope Fund and the new peer navigator support program, visit moosejawpride.ca or reach out to Moose Jaw Pride via email at [email protected].
Following the Moose Jaw Pride Facebook page is another way to stay up to date with the organization’s activities.
