OK2BME

Looking to find community, connect with others, and learn some new skills?

Our FREE Fall Groups are still accepting participants! Sign up today!! Please share widely.

RAINBOW RHYTHMS begins Sept 26:
For 2SLGBTQIA+ youth ages 18-29 blending elements of a traditional psychoeducation group with music therapy.
https://ok2bme.ca/services/rainbow-rhythms/

FAMILIES IN TRANSITION begins Sept 30:
Open to all adults who play a primary caregiving role for a trans/nonbinary/ gender-questioning person aged 5-17.
https://ok2bme.ca/services/fit/

NEUROQUEER QUEST begins Oct 1:
For 2SLGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent youth ages 12-17 where we play a simplified D&D style roleplaying game designed by OK2BME.
https://ok2bme.ca/services/neuroq***r-quest/

OK2BME's GENDER JOURNEYS begins Oct 2:
A group for gender diverse youth ages 12-17 who are interested in better understanding their gender or gender transition.
https://ok2bme.ca/services/gender-journeys/

What does it mean to be Two-Spirit? How can 2SLGBTQIA+ settlers challenge colonialism in q***r spaces? Let’s learn about the role of colonialism in the oppression of 2SLGBTQIA+ people and what we can do about it.

New to youth group? Waterloo Region 2SLGBTQIA+ youth ages 12-18 can sign up here https://ok2bme.ca/event/virtual-youth-group-indigiq***r-identities/

Bisexuality Awareness Week seeks to accelerate acceptance of the bi community. A bisexual or biromantic person is romantically, emotionally, and/or sexually attracted to people of more than one gender.

This week celebrates the bi community, while also drawing attention to the experiences and erasure many in the community face.

There’s nothing quite like a good fidget toy! Join us for a night of crafting our own fidget toys ourselves!

New to youth group? Waterloo Region 2SLGBTQIA+ youth ages 12-18 can sign up via the link in our bio!

Happy Grandparents Day!

Shout out to all those grandparents who create a safe place for their grandkids to be who they are!

Having just one affirming adult in a 2SLGBTQIA+ youth’s life significantly impacts their mental wellbeing.

Affirming adults – like grandparents - create positive effects for a young person’s future, too! Education, employment and economic opportunities, and the sense of self-esteem and self-worth that they carry into adulthood are impacted by having the support of adults in their lives.

Learn more about how to be an affirming adult via the link in our bio!

Sources: The Impact of Accepting Adults on LGBTQ+ Youth Su*cide Risk, The Trevor Project; Still in Every Class, Still in Every School, Egale Canada.

Join us and our friends at ACCKWA for a chat about healthy relationships, and how we can make sure that our friendships and relationships are healthy for all of us!

New to youth group? 2SLGBTQIA+ Waterloo Region youth ages 12-18 can sign up via the link in our bio.

You’ve got this! And we’ve got you.

Connect with us via 519.743.6333 or ok2bme.ca

Join the OK2BME Youth Leadership Team!

Are you a 2SLGBTQIA+ youth in grades 7-12 (ages 12-18)? Want to gain leadership skills, and support your community? This is your chance!

As a member of the Youth Leadership Team, you will help organize and run OK2BME’s Annual GSA Conference and other events for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth across Waterloo Region. Plus, you will develop community leadership skills such as facilitation, event planning, budgeting, and teamwork.

Registration is OPEN for the 2024/2025 Youth Leadership Team until Friday September 20th, 2024 at 4:59pm!

Apply now at: https://forms.office.com/r/3k2D8Btqk8 (link in bio).

Can you believe it?! It’s that time of year again!! OK2BME has some tips for 2SLGBTQIA+ students - and some bonus tips for allies - as we head back to school.

You deserve respect
Your name, pronouns, gender identity & gender expression are all valid & important. It’s also ok if those change or are fluid. That doesn’t make them any less valid.

To be out or not to be out
It is up to you - and only you - to decide when you feel safe & ready. You can be out to some people, everyone or no one. You choose WHO, WHEN and IF.

Try to find your people
Try to find other students you click with. You may find them in your classes, or maybe in clubs or groups that interest you. Your school’s GSA can be a great place to find new friends!

Don’t let others get to you
You may run into people who won’t
accept you, or treat you nicely. You can’t please everyone all the time, so you might as well focus on making sure you’re happy with yourself.

Everyone is unique
Your experience is yours. Don’t assume others feel the same way or want the same things. You may want to be loud and proud, while someone else likes to keep things to themselves.

It’s ok to still be figuring things out
Allow yourself time and space to explore your identities. Going by different pronouns or names, or changing up your self-expression are all ok.

Bonus Ally Tips!
Respect names & pronouns
Be an advocate & use your voice
Keep learning & growing
Be an active bystander
Trust people know themselves best
Be visible in your support

Find these tips on the OK2BME Blog via the link in our bio.

Remember, OK2BME is here for you – from youth groups to counselling, from public education to events. We’ve got you!

You can check out OK2BME at ok2bme.ca - and Camino’s many other programs and services at caminowellbeing.ca.

Come do some crafts. Supplies will be provided, feel free to bring your own. Get artsy craftsy & make some new friends!

New to youth group? We look forward to meeting you! Join us and check things out.

2SLGBTQIA+ Waterloo Region youth ages 12-18 can register via the link in our bio.

Call for Workshop Presenters!

The OK2BME 2025 GSA Conference is happening on Tuesday, February 11 at Bingemans in Kitchener and we are looking for inspiring workshop facilitators and presenters!

This annual conference brings together students from GSA groups across Waterloo Region and this is your opportunity to share information that educates, inspires, and connects 2SLGBTQIA+ youth.

Got a great idea for a workshop? Submit your proposal at https://forms.office.com/r/fDtsteUECj or via the link in our bio. The deadline is September 29, 11:59pm.

September?! That’s right! Here are your September Youth Group themes. We’ve got art and crafts (including an appearance from the OK2BME button maker), DIY fidget toys, plus we’ll chat about healthy relationships and Indigiq***r identities.

Whether you’ve been a gazillion times, or you’re new to youth group – you are welcome here. Join us!

2SLGBTQIA+ youth ages 12-18 in Waterloo Region can register via our bio.

Two Aromantic Spectrum Visibility Days began last year (2023). One on June 5 and today, August 25. Why not celebrate both?

There are many ways to be attracted (or not) to someone. Romantic and sexual attraction are just two examples.

Aromanticism is a romantic orientation. It most commonly describes people who experience little to no romantic attraction to others.

Aromantic individuals are wonderfully diverse. Some may or may not enjoy activities like kissing. Some may be uncomfortable with romance, prefer being single, while others have a partner or partners.

You being you is what it’s about!

As the summer comes closer to an end, school is right around the corner. Join us as we discuss different ways to make the best of the school year.

2SLGBTQIA+ Waterloo Region youth ages 12-18 can sign up via the link in our bio.

Today we mark the 25th anniversary of the transgender flag! Monica Helms designed and created the flag on August 19, 1999. It was first shown a year later, in 2000, at the Phoenix Pride Parade. The original now sits at the Smithsonian National Museum of History.

The blue and pink represent the traditional Western “baby boy and baby girl” colours. The white stripe can represent transition, people who are intersex, or do not identify with the gender binary.

Happy 25th to the transgender flag!

Source: What is Transgender Flag Day? (GenderGP.com, Aug 19/23)

Though the start of the school year is just around the corner, let’s have one last celebration for summer! Join us in person as we play outdoors, and enjoy the last bit of summer (and get registered for the next year of OK2BME Youth Group!)

Check out the link in our bio.

It’s Left-Handers Day! Because left-handedness is less common than right-handedness, it used to be looked upon as something that needed changing. It wasn’t that long ago that kids were forced to “change” to be right-handed. We now know that’s pretty silly, and just because something is less common or more common, doesn’t have anything to do with what is “normal”.

Lady Gaga is left-handed. So is Justin Bieber. Barack Obama, too. Prince William is also left-handed, as was his great-grandfather George VI (but he was forced to write with his right hand).

Share if you’re left-handed or know someone who is!

Gay Uncles Day (or Guncles Day) is celebrated on the second Sunday in August – today! Aunts and Uncles and Auncles (or other terms their nieces and nephew and niblings use for them) have always played an important role in society. Today is a wonderful day for everyday folks to show that families come in a rainbow of varieties.

It’s International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples! This day is dedicated to protecting rights of Indigenous populations worldwide, to celebrate the contributions and achievements of Indigenous communities and to continue to raise awareness of the work that still needs to be done – with the action to back it up.

Indigenous People are not a monolith. There are an estimated 476 million Indigenous Peoples in the world living across 90 countries, speaking an overwhelming majority of the world’s estimated 7,000 languages and representing 5,000 different cultures. There is no one way to be Indigenous.

Have a meme that makes you laugh? Or a meme that brightens your day whenever you see it? Have you taken up creating memes yourself? This group is dedicated to sharing our favourite memes with one another, so have your memes on hand!

Join us for this week's virtual youth group. Waterloo Region 2SLGBTQIA+ youth ages 12-18 can register via our bio.

August 1 is Emancipation Day in Canada. Emancipation Day is the day The Slavery Abolition Act became law in the British Empire (including Canada). The Act became law on August 1, 1834 marking the first Emancipation Day. It wasn’t until 2021 that the day became officially recognized by the Canadian government.

A big part of recognition of this day is talking about the many segments of Canada’s past that often do not make it into mainstream history classes, including the history of slavery in this country.

Learn more at bcblackhistory.ca/emancipation-day-in-canada-past-present-and-future/

Join us for a walk through the community. (If the weather is not appropriate for a community walk, we will still hold the group in person, but move it indoors). See the link in our bio for more info and to register.

Hey you! Just in case you needed to hear this today: YOU ARE AMAZING!! (Yes, you)

Check out your August Youth Group themes! We'll go on a Summer Walk, have an End of Summer Hang, laugh at some Silly Memes for Liberation, and cap it off with Back to School with Pride!

2SLGBTQIA+ youth ages 12-18 in Waterloo Region can register via our bio.

Happy Polyromantic and Polysexual Visibility Day! A polysexual person is someone who may have an attraction toward multiple genders, but not necessarily all.

The polysexual flag consists of pink, green, and blue. Pink represents an attraction to women. Green is an attraction to genderq***r/non-binary/gender non-conforming people. Blue is an attraction to men.

Family service agencies like Camino are here for 2SLGTBQIA+ individuals and families all year round.

While June may be LOUD and PROUD, the need to support, nurture, and celebrate the 2SLGBTQIA+ community doesn't end with Pride Month.

Connect with Camino to see how we can support you, whether you're part of the Rainbow Community or an ally wanting to learn and do more!

Visit the link in our bio to learn more!

What on earth is that?!

Join us this week and take your best guess on what on earth someone is trying to draw, it’s Pictionary time!

2SLGBTQIA+ youth ages 12-18 in Waterloo Region - sign up here https://ok2bme.ca/event/virtual-youth-group-pictionary-3/

“I can’t begin to express how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self.” Elliot Page 🩵🩷🤍🩷🩵

They’re back! This week we’re joined by UWaterloo’s EngiQueers! Get ready to build, and to ask any questions you have about q***r spaces in STEM and post-secondary spaces!

Not signed up for our Tuesday Youth Groups? Register via the link in our bio.

International Drag Day, observed annually on July 16th, celebrates the artistry, creativity, and cultural impact of drag.

Drag is a performance art that uses costumes, makeup, and other tools to present exaggerated forms of gender expression. Anyone of any gender can do drag. Drag asks its audience to examine and question gendered stereotypes.

We celebrate and honour drag artists!