Mississauga Has This New Service for the LGBT Community

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Published February 22, 2019 at 12:00 am

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For the last decade or so, there has been an increase in awareness of Canada’s gay, biseuxal, lesbian and transgendered, aka, LGBTQ community. Although we are more aware now than before about the challenges of people who identify as LGBT and have tried to make public spaces more accommodating for them (such as public washrooms), many believe there is more to be done.

Unlike in Toronto, where there is a robust week of Pride celebrations and structure to facilitate and organize on behalf of the community, Peel Region doesn’t have the same level of support. Even with a combined population of 1.5 million, Peel has few services that support the LGBTQ community.

Which is why a new hub to provide support to this community may become prominently well used in the near future.

Rainbow Salad is an online, virtual hub (dubbed the first of its kind in the Region of Peel) that says they were created to “bring people together, creating resources and helping members of the community.” The hub was initiated by nine separate organizations:

The last assessment of the needs of Peel’s LGBT community was done in 2009, four years after Canada legalized same sex marriage. It said that the “lack of visibility is an expressed sense of isolation and invisibility as LGBTQ people in Peel – which can lead to loneliness, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, suicidal ideation and mental health issues.”

Hopefully with something like Rainbow Salad, it would become easier for residents in Brampton and Mississauga who are LGBTQ to find the support they need.

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