Generation Q - Boys and Girls Club of Central Vancouver Island
Summary
On Generation Q:
Generation Q is a weekly evening group program for youth ages 12-18. This program offers a safe space for youth to discover who they are, connect with other 2SLGBTQIA+ youth, and be themselves.
Our Generation Q program is a free, low barrier program. BGC Central Vancouver Island does collect a yearly family membership fee of $60/family. Fees can be requested to waived by contacting the Youth Programs Manager. Payments are made through etransfer at billing@bgccvi.com. We also accept cheque and cash.
Generation Q is run out of our 20-5th Street location every Thursday evening from 6:30 to 8:30pm. This space is wheelchair accessible, and sensory friendly with a variety of tools available to support each individuals needs.
On BGC Central Vancouver Island:
For over 50 years now, BGC Central Vancouver Island has been helping young people to discover, develop and achieve their best potential as they grow to become Canada's future adults, citizens and leaders, by engaging them in activities that challenge them, and help them develop healthy minds and bodies. We provide a variety of affordable or no-cost and accessible programs throughout the Central Vancouver Island area including Early Years Programs, Before and After School Programs, Summer Camps, Teen and Youth Programs and Parent Education Programs. We offer a safe place where children and youth can experience new opportunities, overcome barriers, build positive relationships and develop the confidence and skills for life. The most important work that we do every day is to build strong relationships with our children and youth. Many children and youth in our communities do not have access to affordable programs or they have challenges to overcome such as poverty, family breakdown, lack of supportive adults or a community of supports. Here at BGCCVI we offer trusting, loving and caring relationships to ensure that any child or youth feels important and can see a positive future. We are a registered Charity and we do depend on fundraising to continue to support children, youth and their families to have access to all our programs. BGC Central Vancouver Island’s programming and focus in the community is led by our mission, vision and core values.
Our Mission:
To provide safe and supportive places where children and youth can experience new opportunities, overcome barriers, build positive relationships, and develop confidence and skills for life.
Our Vision All children and youth discover and achieve their dreams and grow up to be healthy, successful, and active participants in society. Our Core Values
- Belonging
- Respect
- Encouragement and Support
- Working Together
- Speaking Out
Want to learn more about this service’s work with Two-Spirit, trans, LGBQ+ people?
We invite all service providers listed on MindMapBC to answer the following questions. These questions were developed in collaboration with community members, researchers, and mental health and other service providers. They're intended to help us understand what a service provider or organization is doing to affirm and support sexual and gender diverse service users.
See below for responses for this listing.
Want to learn more about our screening questions and filters?
1) Are the forms used in your practice inclusive of various sexual orientations and gender identities (e.g. opportunities to fill in different pronouns etc.)? Yes, our registration forms as well as any demographic forms used for data collection are inclusive for various sexual orientations and gender identities.
2) Do you collect and use preferred names (rather than legal names) for all communications? Yes, we ask for legal and preferred names on our registration forms, and will use preferred names to refer to the individual.
3) Do you and your colleagues have experience providing services that support clients with navigating gender dysphoria*? *TransCareBC describes gender dysphoria as a term "intended to describe the distress some trans people experience with relation to their gender identity, particularly if they would like to transition but have not yet done so". Our staff team does not have specific experience in supporting youth 1-1 with gender dysphoria, but we do have a wide range of experience working with unique individuals and work to support 2SLGBTQIA+ youth to the best of our abilities.
4) Please tell us how equipped you feel to support a client in determining if/when their mental health symptoms are related to their gender-related experiences or other factors? Our staff provide mental health support within our capacity, and will refer youth to the appropriate resources if necessary. While our staff are not mental health professionals, we work to create a safe space and connect youth with the appropriate resources when necessary.
5) Do you/your colleagues understand the difference between gender dysphoria and mental health conditions/symptoms that are unrelated to gender dysphoria or distress? Yes. 6) Do you and your colleagues have experience working with people who identify as living with a disability or chronic illness? Please tell us more about your experience and any training you have received. Minor experience but yes, many of the youth we see in our programs identify as living with a disability.
7) Are you and your colleagues comfortable asking relevant questions about gender identity and sexual orientation? Yes.
8) Do you offer Indigenous 2SLGBTQIA+ specific resources, for example Indigenous Elders or Knowledge Keepers? We currently do not but would strive to have Indigenous Elders or Knowledge Keepers attend as guests in programs, or be able to connect Indigenous youth with them.
9) Do you and your colleagues ask clients about pronouns and use them appropriately? Yes, we do a weekly "check-in" where we share our names and pronouns (if we are comfortable) with the group, so we can appropriately refer to one another and know of any pronoun or preferred name changes.
10) Are you and your colleagues aware of what specific barriers may exist for Two-Spirit, queer, or trans Indigenous individuals accessing your services?
11) Are you and your colleagues aware of what specific barriers may exist for 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals accessing your services?
12) Are you and your colleagues aware of what specific barriers may exist for trans individuals accessing your services? (Answering 10, 11, 12) Yes, we are aware of the various barriers these individuals all face, and work to create a safe space and connect them with safe, responsible adults who can connect them with outside resources that they may need.
13) Are there clear anti-discrimination policies that include gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation in your organization or practice? Yes, we have very clear policies in place for staff and participants. We regularly review and update all our policies as necessary as well.
14) Are all individuals involved in service provision actively engaged in decolonizing their practices and/or organization? If yes, please type below what actions you and/or your organization are taking.
15) Are all individuals involved in service provision actively engaged in anti-racist practices, policies, and systems in their care model? (Answering 14 & 15) We work to create safe spaces based around our organizational values, the youth who attend our programs are required to review our policies on safe and appropriate behaviour while attending program and if any of the policies are not respected we go through a series of steps in correcting behaviour to keep program safe and welcoming for all.
Address
20 Fifth Street
Nanaimo, BC
V9R 1M7
Last updated: November 22, 2024
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