By Justin Craft

As a gay man who has accepted himself for who he is for the last 10 years, working in a place where I am respected, accepted and able to be my true authentic self is important. Having spent so many years trying to “hide” myself out of fear, it means a lot that I can work in a place where I feel supported and celebrated for my differences.

Disclaimer: Not everyone who is a part of the LGBTQ2S+ community here at Trellis might feel the same way. This is purely my own insight and opinion.

One thing I respect and appreciate about Trellis and the wonderful folks who work here is the fact that the organization does not claim to be perfect. The organization is always striving to be more diverse, more inclusive, and from the CEO to the front-line staff, there is a sense of continually working on being a safe place for all.

When I joined Trellis three years ago, I remember feeling supported but also that more could be done. My hopes and thoughts at the time were for new employees who identify as part of the LGBTQ2S+ community to feel supported and to know that Trellis was working on being an inclusive, safe space. I also wanted the youth, families, adults and community to know that here at Trellis we not only accepted but celebrated differences.

That was one of the reasons why I decided to start an LGBTQ2S+ working group. A group of people who were allies or who were part of this great community, who worked to bring issues facing both LGBTQ2S+ staff and clients to the table and worked together to find solutions.

I remember hearing the news that Aspen Family & Community Network Society and the Boys and Girls Club of Calgary were merging and remember the excitement and anxiety I had. Would I still belong here?

Then Trellis was born. Trellis, “a framework of light wooden or metal bars, chiefly used as a support for fruit trees or climbing plants.”

At first the name confused me, but the more I read the definition and heard our management speak about it, the more I heard it, the more I loved and appreciated the name. My vision was to be a support, for those we serve, for people to see themselves in Trellis, and for us to be in the background quietly supporting.

Since the merge, the two legacy LGBTQ2S+ committees have merged as well. Two forces of allies and members of the community with a goal to make Trellis inclusive for all.

Our first step was finding a name that fit us. Did we want to be an acronym? Should we include ally in the name so folks know everyone is welcome?

We settled on Trellis Queer Working Group, a strong, progressive name which makes it known that there is work being done to make Trellis the best place to work.

We decided that one of our big missions should be training—educating staff and community members about what it truly means to identify as LGBTQ2S+, making sure staff know the complex issues trans youth face and being able to navigate through the red tape so we know exactly what they need and how to best support them. Education is power.

The next thing we aim to do is ensure our intake packages, our paperwork, our offices, our apartment buildings are all inclusive spaces. A place where a non-binary staff doesn’t need to choose a certain washroom based on a gender that they’re not. A place where foster moms can come and see themselves represented in the media we produce. Not just a single flag on the window or on a door, but a place that fully embraces everyone.

One thing I appreciate about working in the youth housing stream is how we all make sure to tell everyone our pronouns (and how most in the agency have adopted pronouns in their email signature). It’s a normal thing to do. I’m Justin, I use he/him pronouns, but I could be Justin and use she/her or they/them too. We are trying to help everyone feel comfortable to be who they are and not have to face the awkwardness of being misgendered.

So, like I said at the beginning, Trellis is not perfect. No organization, no boss, no staff, no person is. But here at Trellis we recognize this, we don’t hide from it, and we strive every day to be better—for our staff, for our clients, for the community and for our future.