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“Head & Hands gave me the support to take on the world, one day at a time”

by Head & Hands on

Testimonial by Benjamin, 25, former client

I first accessed Head & Hands services at 21, in May 2009. I had just arrived to Montréal from B.C. with no support or knowledge about health services for transsexual individuals residing in Quebec.

I first heard about Head & Hands through my roommate, who told me I could go there to access social and health services on a non-judgmental basis. As a newcomer to Quebec, without a valid medical card, I also could access services without having to pay a heavy fee.

After a brief meeting outside the metro, Anita, a Head & Hands street worker, gave me her card and told me I could call her at any time for clean needles, support, referrals, or if I had general inquiries about navigating the city as a newcomer and as a trans person—all of which I took advantage of as the years came to pass.

For the first time I had a doctor who was committed to monitoring my transition and educating me on issues from how to inject safely to understanding the realities of trans pregnancy. There was a sexual health educator who I could call or email at any time for inquiries ranging from safe sex practices to finding trans friendly alternative health care providers in the city. At one point, the social counsellor Rhonda even made a long distance call to B.C to speak with a family member who was having a hard time accepting my transition.

Head & Hands has not only helped me survive and come to know, love, and appreciate my transness, but has also redefined the meaning of community and family for someone who had very little of both prior to arriving in Quebec. The services that Head & Hands offers go beyond their mission statement and speak volumes to just how much the Head & Hands family is capable of. Head & Hands truly was and is the familial support group that I and many other trans people lack when taking on the world one day at a time.

Though I no longer access Hands & Hands services, as a local trans activist Head & Hands is most often the first place recommended in our community, and has proven itself with the highest regard time and time again.

McGill Science Undergraduate Students Raise Nearly $15,000 for Head & Hands!

by Head & Hands on
H&H staff with the generous cheque from the Science Undergraduate Society

H&H staff with the generous cheque from the Science Undergraduate Society

For the past eight years, the McGill’s Science Undergraduate Society has raised funds for local charities during their October Charity Week. “This year, we chose Head & Hands because of its unique mission and the enormous positive impact it has on youth in the Montreal area,” says Danielle Toccalino, one of the week’s organizers.

“Organizing a week of events running from 8:00 am to 10:30 pm was exhausting, but the team of coordinators all worked incredibly hard and we pulled it off,” says Danielle. The hard work paid off: not only did the fundraiser pull in nearly $15,000, but Danielle also estimates that at least 400 students participated in making the week a success. Wow!

J2K’s new recording studio releases first hit single!

by Head & Hands on
For Fraser, it’s important to provide youth with places to experiment artistically.

For Fraser, it’s important to provide youth with places to experiment artistically.

After opening its doors in January, the new recording studio at the J2K teen centre is already making a splash! As the latest in J2K’s many arts and music activities, the studio furthers Head & Hands’ mission to foster youth self-expression. “There are kids coming here who have never heard their voice in a microphone,” says Fraser, the J2K staffer who runs the program. “Once we’ve recorded, they’re like ‘send it to me, I want to share it with my friends!’”

Since its launch, the studio has seen a group of 10 youth come by to record on a regular basis, with many more dropping in. They have 5-6 songs on the go, and have finished one track, titled “I Think It’s 808”. Check it out!

To hear more of Fraser’s music, check out his band at fmhilow.com.

Saying Thanks After 28 Years!

by Head & Hands on

“28 years ago in the Head & Hands waiting room, I found out I was about to be a young mom. At the time I didn’t have any money for the $5 pregnancy test, and the nurse kindly told me to bring the money whenever I could.

As my firstborn grew, he showed brilliance and independence, but developed some self-destructive habits. As a teen he became chemically dependant and I needed outside support. When he became too old for Youth Protection and his habits were more than the family could endure, I was faced with the decision to ask him to leave home.

Through one social worker or another, he was introduced to Head & Hands. He spoke of people who helped him with various issues he faced, how they gave help but also treated him with dignity and respect, no matter how frazzled or desperate he was.

My son is now clean, and working as a chef. I am a single mother, working toward a career in Human Relations. Now it is time to give back, open my wallet and pay the $5 I have owed since 1984!”

Dana, NDG mother

Dancing to glory! 2012 Ça Marche campaign raises more than ever!

by Head & Hands on

Groups of passionate people can achieve great things, so when we called on our community to help us raise $15 000 for our youth health services and sex education program as part of Ça Marche this year, we felt like we would give it our best shot.

But when all was said and done this Sunday, we were floored by the amazingness of our community. The results of this year’s Ça Marche campaign were astounding:

  • More than $20,300 raised for our youth health services and peer-based health education project
  • 46 people fundraised on behalf of Head & Hands
  • 368 community members donated to our cause
  • And one amazing troupe danced 7km in fierce glory to celebrate the joys of HIV care, prevention, and education with youth!

This year, more than ever, Ça Marche reminded us that we are nestled in a supportive and strong community that will ensure that Montreal youth have access to the health care and information that they need. We are especially grateful to our top fundraiser Ren who raised over $1,500; to Gregory, a new Sense animator who brought in a whopping 26 donors; and Tanya, who dressed in a cat suit to inspire her community to give. These star fundraisers will be rewarded with the Diner’s Delight top prize, cheffed by our haute-cuisine inspired fundraising team.

Big ups to all of our fundraisers, our dancers, walkers and banner carriers, choreographer Claire Lyke of Studio des Bêtes Dansantes, DJs Tamika and Nino Brown, photographer Chase Moser, videographers Carol Fernandes and Jess Lee, and of course to the Farha Foundation, who continues to lead the fight against HIV and AIDs in Quebec.

We can’t wait ‘til next year!

A Fantasy Come to Life, with Ça Marche choreographer Claire Lyke

by Head & Hands on

Prepare your glittery glam sparkles and your divine dancing shoes, ‘cause this Sunday Head & Hands is shimmyin’ and shakin’ all over downtown Montreal as part of Ça Marche, the Farha Foundation’s HIV/AIDS walk! We caught up with Claire Lyke, Ça Marche choreographer for the second year in a row to find out what to kind of moves to expect, and she responded with this little video.

Yes, in short, you can expect a lot of sass and glam this Sunday. And for Claire, each dancer will bring their own flair: “Just like you can walk [in Ça Marche] for a thousand reasons, you can dance for a thousand reasons. For me, when we are out there dancing it is about choosing to live our sex lives with pizzazz—bunches of it!”

This isn’t the first time monthly donor Claire has filled the role of Ça Marche choreographer, so we asked why! Why would she wake up early on a Sunday, rain or shine, to holler herself hoarse for hours to a bunch of spandex-clad youth-health service supporters? “As a queer identified person, I desperately wish I’d had Sense Project animators come give workshops in my high school. Sex-positive workshops on consent, STIs, conception, gender orientation and more? Yes please! Helping to make this happen by leading a pack of dreamy dancers through the street is like a fantasy come to life.”

Well Claire, Ça Marche is like a fantasy come to life for us too! With DJ Tamika (Cousins, Faggity Ass Fridays) on the battery-powered decks and lots of glitter to go around thanks to Salon Identité co owner and Head & Hands boardie Dave Landry, we hope you’ll join us, and bring your groove along, too.

Claire Lyke’s dance studio, Studio des Bêtes Dansantes is famous for it’s amazingly fun “Queer Dance Classes for Everyone”.

September is Ça Marche month on the blog! Let’s come together for the Farha Foundation’s walk on September 30th, and raise money for our HIV prevention, education, and support services for youth. Join our team, make a donation, get involved!

Rock Camp For Girls Loves Us!

by Head & Hands on

Photo by/par Lainie Basman

Rock Camp for Girls is supporting us in Ça Marche this year! Why?

“As volunteers and members of a rockin’ community organization, we feel that it is important to be able to give back to our community and participate in events such as Ça Marche. Because we want to support Montreal youth, all funds raised by our team will go to Head & Hands, a youth services organization in NDG dedicated to providing safer sex education to youth in Montreal.”

September is Ça Marche month on the blog! Let’s come together for the Farha Foundation’s walk on September 30th, and raise money for our HIV prevention, education, and support services for youth. Join our team, make a donation, get involved!

Join Us for the 20th Edition of Ça Marche!

by Head & Hands on

September is Ça Marche month on the blog! Let’s come together for the Farha Foundation’s walk on September 30th, and raise money for our HIV prevention, education, and support services for youth. Join our team, make a donation, get involved!

This is Ça Marche’s 20th year, and this will be our 8th year participating, and as always, we’ll be DANCING instead of walking. Why do we dance? We dance because we want to celebrate the lives of people with HIV/AIDS in addition to commemorating those we’ve lost. We dance to celebrate the joys of working with youth, empowering them by providing information, testing, safer sex supplies, and non-judgemental counseling.

Our Ça Marche campaign supports two vital youth services: our medical clinics and our peer-based sex education program, the Sense Project. Last year, nearly 700 people accessed our clinics, and we reached 1389 participants through Sense. Help us reach even more youth this year!

Special Edition Faggity Ass Saturday: Hanky Code!

by Head & Hands on

Reviving an old Faggity tradition, this weekend’s theme is hanky code! What is hanky code?

“IT’S HOW YOU EXPRESS YOURSELF! WEAR HANKYS TO TELL PEOPLE WHAT TURNS YOU ON, WHAT GETS YOU OFF, AND WHAT CAN MAKE YOU SCREAM! THE HANKY SYSTEM IS EASILY AVAILABLE BY GOOGLING IT (SO READ IT CAREFULLY! YOU WANNA MAKE SURE YOU’RE SENDING THE RIGHT VIBES TO THE RIGHT PPL) BUT YOU CAN ALSO MAKE UP YOUR OWN! ALL HANKYS ARE GOOD AND GAY HANKYS!”

Bring your favorite hanky or buy one at the door to cruise for someone whose (wet) dreams match yours! Wear it to the left if you wanna do it to someone (dom/top), to the right if you want it done to you (sub/bottom), and in the middle if you’re flex. Traditionally you flag from your back pocket, but you can also put your hanky around your wrist, around your neck, in your hair, in your boot, or anywhere else it’ll grab someone’s attention. Says your host for the evening, Princess Johnston Newfield, “It’s approachable and dirty to be able to express your (perhaps sometimes hidden) sexual desires through clothing – especially when everyone’s doing it! It’s a bonafide free-for-all of sexy cravings!”

Fall is back-to-school, which means the Sense Project is gearing up for a year of queer-positive, trans-positive, empowering sex ed! Featuring a performance by Vincent Chevalier and DJs Tamika and Sam behind the decks at the Royal Phoenix, this FAS is a perfect start to your September.

Getting Crafty at NDG Arts Week

by FRDC on

Guest post by the fabulous Robyn Fadden, member of the Head & Hands Board of Directors

The neighbourhood of Notre-Dame-de-Grace is as creative as it is cozy – and the upcoming NDG Arts week, August 18-26, proves the case. Along with artists of all stripes, photographer, crafter and organizer extraordinaire Melinda Carrière contributes to the arty happening with a second edition of the wittily named All the Rage Craft Fair, on August 19.

With an expanded fair this year – Montreal artisans and designers will be selling everything from hand-made jewelry and beauty products to children’s clothes and vintage items – located at a new venue, Le Manoir (5319 Notre-Dame-de-Grace), a big turnout is expected. The proceeds from table rentals at this summer’s craft fair will all go to Head & Hands, as they did from last year’s holiday craft fair, also organized by Melinda.

Presence in the neighbourhood was one reason Head & Hands stood out as the obvious choice, but personal experience was also a factor: “I’ve had friends who had volunteered or worked there previously. One of them said to me that he realized how much of an impact he made as a volunteer there – kids would come up to him on the street and say hi and tell him how awesome he was for them.”

Before heading into a BFA in Photography, Melinda had thoughts about becoming a teacher – she aligns that interest in education and youth with her appreciation for Head & Hands: “The fact that there’s an organization like this available to young people is amazing. I come from a small town and there just aren’t programs like that around. The Sense Project as well – that wasn’t done years ago, and it’s so necessary. I just want to support that.”

Melinda was supported in organizing this year’s fair by friend, fellow crafter and NDG-dweller Jessie Evans, who co-curated the fair via submissions from crafters in NDG and other Montreal neighbourhoods. “Ideally we want to bring NDG crafters to the forefront,” says Jessie. “Once you start networking with other crafters, you realize how some of the bigger craft fairs are quite hard to get into,” adds Melinda, “especially for newer crafters and those outside the Plateau and Mile End – there was still an opportunity for another craft fair of a different sort.”

All the Rage is a far cry from shopping at the mall. “A lot of the crafters we have also do up-cycled and recycled work and clothing, making new things out of discarded but perfectly workable objects,” says Melinda. “It’s a positive trend right now, a part of being a conscious consumer.”

In another nod to NDG’s family-friendly atmosphere, events and workshops for kids and teens will be going on at the same time as the craft fair in different rooms at Le Manoir, so parents can peruse the tables while their kids are otherwise occupied.

All the Rage Craft Fair, Sunday, August 19, 12-5 p.m. At Le Manoir (5319 Notre-Dame-de-Grace), up the hill from Girouard Park.

Melinda makes feathered creations as Mielcoeur (http://www.wix.com/melindacarriere/mielcoeur)

Jessie’s vintage clothing and button jewelry can be found at Crime Is Beauty (http://www.etsy.com/shop/crimeisbeauty)