JQT Vancouver\u2019s table at the BC Hospice Palliative Care Association\u2019s Grief, Bereavement and Mental Health Summit 2024, which took place Nov. 20-22. <\/i>(photo from JQT)<\/i><\/p>\n
In 2024, JQT Vancouver, a queer and trans nonprofit, and Jewish Family Services Vancouver teamed up \u2013 through financial backing from the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Vancouver and private donations \u2013 to create the JQT Mental Health Support Series, a set of informational workshops, resources and events for the LGBTQ2SIA+ community.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The organizations have now entered 2025 invigorated by the response and eager to continue and expand their offerings.<\/p>\n \u201cLike any marginalized community, queer and trans people are aware of their needs and are tired of being surveyed. They have been historically, persistently and systemically marginalized and are waiting for changes in society and health care to be more inclusive of them,\u201d JQT founder and executive director Carmel Tanaka told the Independent<\/i>.<\/p>\n Tanaka added that a limited operating budget can present challenges when providing the necessary safe spaces, programs and awareness resources for Jewish queer and trans community members and beyond. These needs for support far outweigh JQT\u2019s capacity alone, she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In her view, moving away from the survey model to a model of outreach and engagement not only fosters community between Jewish queer and trans people but ensures that Jewish queer and trans people are seen and treated as more than survey data.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Tanaka credited JFS Vancouver chief executive officer Tanja Demajo for understanding this. Demajo listened to the recommendations JQT had been urging for a long time and took steps to fill the gap in mental health support services for the Jewish queer and trans community, said Tanaka.<\/p>\n \u201cThis partnership has been an incredible learning experience for me personally,\u201d Demajo shared with the Independent. \u201cWorking closely with Carmel and the JQT team made me recognize the importance of being present, listening and understanding how JFS needs to evolve to better serve populations that may have felt isolated. Empowering others to take the lead in this context was inspiring and has already resulted in some truly amazing programming.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSeeing the community come together \u2013 sharing laughs, conversations and moments of joy \u2013 has reinforced one key takeaway: we should continue building these connections and creating even more opportunities to collaborate.\u201d<\/p>\n The partnership between JQT and JFS dates back several years. In 2020, the two groups started conversations pertaining to diversity education, ensuring JFS supports for the social, physical and emotional wellness of all people, and providing a welcoming and inclusive organization for the Jewish LGBTQ2SIA+ community. Their partnership was given the name Twice Blessed 2.0: The Jewish LGBTQ2SIA+ Initiative. The Mental Health Support Series, rolled out last year, is the second phase of the initiative; it follows the 2022 Community Needs Assessment.<\/p>\n The mental health series provided numerous offerings last year that encompassed an array of topics \u2013 some serious, some lighter \u2013 such as dying and death, clay as a medium for mindfulness, and belly dancing. There was also an evening of comedy with Los Angeles-based performer Antonia Lassar and music from Victoria\u2019s Klezbians.<\/p>\n \u201cThis series deals with very heavy issues, a lot of which are highly contentious and divide our communities in a number of ways. Our series also provides opportunities to laugh, have fun, relieve stress and move energy. When it comes to mental health, there needs to be a balance,\u201d Tanaka said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are many highlights for me personally,\u201d she continued, \u201cbut one that stands out was when a group of queer Chinese folx attended our mahjong event to learn how to play mahjong because they didn\u2019t have the opportunity to learn in their community. That\u2019s when you know that you\u2019re making a positive difference, when you are also helping out communities beyond your own.\u201d<\/p>\n With the positive reaction thus far,\u00a0 <\/span>JQT and JFS are maintaining their partnership into 2025 to bring more programs and support to the Jewish queer and trans community.<\/p>\n \u201cWe look forward to continuing our learning journey and offering meaningful programming and support for the LGBTQ2SIA+ community. In partnership with JQT, we\u2019re excited to develop programs over the next year that will clearly reflect our ongoing commitment to inclusivity and connection,\u201d Demajo said.<\/p>\n Throughout the partnership, Tanaka said, JFS \u201chas learned our preferred style of collaboration and communication, and has borne witness to JQT\u2019s growth and its limitations as a 100% volunteer-led organization.<\/p>\n \u201cToday,\u201d she said, \u201cour quarterly JQT-JFS meetings run quickly, smoothly and are a whole lot of fun because we all genuinely like each other, enjoy the work we are accomplishing together, and can see the fruits of our labour.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2024, JQT gained charitable status. This is a significant accomplishment for a small nonprofit, noted Tanaka, who this month starts her seventh year with JQT.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In 2025, she aims to secure an annual salary for the organization\u2019s executive director position, as well as extended health benefits and program funding.\u00a0 <\/span>These, she believes, will set JQT up for further success and future executive directors.<\/p>\n \u201cWith an increase in queer Jewish event offerings in town,\u201d said Tanaka, \u201cJQT can now focus on heavier lifting, specifically education and training of Jewish and non-Jewish organizations in and out of community and health care, which has been a decades-long request from Jewish queer and trans people.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are starting to feel the synergy around our work and are finally being invited to the table,\u201d she added. \u201cIt\u2019s all been worth it and we look forward to continuing our collaboration with JFS in a good, organic way.\u201d<\/p>\n The first event of the 2025 Mental Health Support Series, Jewish Magic Herbal Pottery, takes place on Feb. 25, 6 p.m., at Or Shalom Synagogue. To register, visit jqtvancouver.ca.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sam Margolis<\/strong> has written for the<\/em> Globe and Mail, the<\/em> National Post, UPI and MSNBC.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" JQT Vancouver\u2019s table at the BC Hospice Palliative Care Association\u2019s Grief, Bereavement and Mental Health Summit 2024, which took place Nov. 20-22. (photo from JQT) In 2024, JQT Vancouver, a queer and trans nonprofit, and Jewish Family Services Vancouver teamed up \u2013 through financial backing from the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Vancouver and private […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":45945,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7677,21289,21288,1997,23821,8474],"class_list":["post-45943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","tag-carmel-tanaka","tag-jfs-vancouver","tag-jqt-vancouver","tag-mental-health","tag-mental-health-support-series","tag-tanja-demajo"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}