Out & About is a resource guide for Queer youth and Adult allies.
We are a group of passionate 2SLGBTQIA+ youth mental health leaders and advocates who created this zine as part of the 2025 Rainbow Connections program. Along with creating this project, we focused on connection: sharing our stories, building community, and showing up as our zesty, authentic selves. These connections make it possible to create thoughtful, high-quality work that supports queer youth mental health in our province and beyond.
While this zine includes some content for service providers, it is primarily for queer youth. We hope it helps youth feel the same sense of connection that makes our group so special—and that everyone who reads it finds something meaningful to take away.
Connection. Advocacy. Empowerment
About the Program
The Rainbow Connections Youth Leadership program is designed to support, foster connectivity and community for youth while encouraging mental health advocacy in a way that centers 2SLGBTQIA+ youth voices. We recruit 10 awesome 2SLGBTQIA+ youth (ages 13–24).
We meet virtually every other week.
Benefits:
- It’s FREE!
- CMHO Certificate of Completion, recognizing your contribution
- Participant Honorarium based on active participation
- Connect with other 2SLGBTQIA+ youth
- Explore the links between queerness & mental health
- Create change by leading a project to educate the wider community and stakeholders
What do we do?
- Share stories & ideas in a safe, affirming space
- Discuss how your identity shapes mental health—and vice versa
- Explore how systems (like healthcare or schools) support—or fail—2SLGBTQIA+ youth
- Design & lead a project that can educate the wider community on how to support queer youth with mental health
Why Should I Join?
- Build community with like-minded peers
- Grow leadership & advocacy skills
- Create real tools to educate the wider community and stakeholders (guides, poems, or other resources!)
Leave your mark on mental health support for queer youth
How does it work?
Virtual (Zoom) | 1.5 hours meetings | 2 meetings/month
May thru September 2025.
We use interactive tools (like Miro, discussion boards, and creative activities) to keep it engaging, collaborative, and fun!
Please note that our organization does not directly provide mental health services.
To find a Children’s Mental Health Centre near you, click here.
If you are in a crisis, please call 911 or go to your nearest Emergency Department.