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Barrhead resident plans for local LGBTQ+ support group

Caitlin Clarke says individuals in the non-heterosexual community have identified the need for such a group
Caitlin Clarke may 10, 2022 copy
Barrhead resident and LGTBQ ally Caitlin Clark is planning to organize an LGTBQ support group for youths with the help of the United Church. Here she is pictured at a May 10 Town of Barrhead council meeting requesting to paint one of the town's Main Street crosswalks in rainbow colours for Pride Month.

BARRHEAD – A Barrhead resident, with the assistance of the local United Church, hopes to start a LGBTQ+ support group in the community. 

Local LGBTQ+ advocate Caitlin Clarke says individuals in the non-heterosexual community in the Barrhead area have identified the need for such a group. In June, Clarke also spearheaded the effort to paint one of Barrhead's Main Street crosswalks in rainbow colours to commemorate Pride Month.  

"What started all of this, including the idea for the sidewalk, was that I was talking with a member of the LGTBQ+ community, and they mentioned what a great need there was to have some sort of support group, a place where they could go and feel safe being themselves," she said. 

Clarke added the timing was fortuitous because she had been researching a program in St. Albert called Outloud through the Outloud Foundation. 

The foundation, founded in 2014 by Terry Soetaert, gives youths who identify as LGTBQ+ a safe place to meet and discuss topics of interest, including sexual identity. 

"It started as a grassroots organization in a basement, and I think Barrhead could benefit from something similar," she said. "But since then, they have grown, connecting kids and allies together and allowing them a safe place to state their pronouns and make connections to people doing the same thing so they can feel comfortable in their own skin." 

Clarke had additional conversations with young adults and younger high school-aged youth who identify as LGTBQ+ about what kind of support they need. 

They told her that although some schools, such as Barrhead Composite High School, do have school gay-straight alliance (GSA) clubs, it is not enough. 

GSAs are school clubs that meet during break periods or after school that provide safe spaces for students to socialize away from peer pressure led by students under the guidance of teacher supervisors.  

In March 2016, the Alberta legislature unanimously passed Bill 10, which requires any school to create a GSA if a student requests one.  

Barrhead Composite High School (BCHS) has had a GSA in place since 2014. However, the school's GSA and most, if not all other extracurricular activities, were severely restricted during the pandemic. 

"They said having that safe space is the most important thing," Clarke noted, adding the organization may also try to incorporate an educational component that is not part of the normal school curriculum. 

Clarke specifically referenced Cool Camp, the human sexuality portion of the Grade 8 health program, which takes place in the form of a two-day workshop.  

Although Cool Camp does include an LGTBQ+ component, she said there is very little specific information "for students outside of heterosexual relationships.  

According to a letter sent to parents in 2019, Cool Camp workshop topics include assertiveness training; evaluating risks; birth control; sexually transmitted diseases and their prevention; responsibilities and decisions that come with being sexually active; reproductive anatomy and system and hygiene. The letter also notes that there is an LGTBQ+ session that explores gender identity and expression, along with physical and sexual attraction and how they may differ for everyone. 

As for what the organization, group, or club, will look like, Clarke said they are not entirely sure, adding they want to reach out to organizations such as the previously mentioned Outloud Foundation for suggestions. 

However, she noted they have secured a Main Street location, thanks to the Barrhead United Church. 

"It is probably going to be an after-school homework club, sort of thing. In the evening, we might have some programming, whether it has to do with gender or sexual identity, sex-ed, or just looking into popular culture about the queer or non-heterosexual community's representation in music, television or the movies," she said.  

"We are hoping to normalize it so these kids can see themselves in the world around them." 

 


Barry Kerton

About the Author: Barry Kerton

Barry Kerton is the managing editor of the Barrhead Leader, joining the paper in 2014. He covers news, municipal politics and sports.
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