A recent Pride Month event at North Hastings High School provided a great opportunity to discuss discrimination and talk about mental health issues that impact the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
That, from teacher Jenny Burbidge who helps with a student committee called Increasing Awareness Erasing Stigma.
The June 9 event included a school-wide assembly to learn about mental health plus classroom activities.
Burbidge says she’s worried that discrimination exists in our community, but also feels the event represented a positive step forward, especially for students who identify as part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
“Their faces were beaming,” she says. “There were students walking around here feeling safe and comfortable and that’s what they’ve come and shared with me. They said ‘thank you for giving us a day to feel like we can walk the halls and not feel discriminated against, that I could be myself.’”
Burbidge says the theme of the event was “Take Pride” and students were encouraged to “come as you are, or dress in the colours of the rainbow.”