MacPheeCentre

Located in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, the MacPhee Centre was founded in 2009 as a non-profit training centre that empowers youth by connecting passion with purpose through the arts.

The MacPhee Centre’s Gender & Sexuality Alliance (GSA) Program launched in January January, 2017 in response to a need for safer spaces in our communities for 2SLGBTQ+ youth. GSA programs support youth as they gather weekly to learn and grow together. The collaborative and youth-led nature of programming empowers youth to find their voice within the larger communities they inhabit. Youth swap stories of marginalization, offer and seek peer support, and make time to engage in play and celebrate the beauty of their 2SLGBTQ+ identities and community. During COVID-19, youth have pivoted GSA programming to virtual platforms, ensuring they can continue to come together in community.

In 2021, FrancesDadinAlli, Chair of Halifax Pride said:

Each year, Halifax Pride’s board of directors seeks to identify an individual or group from the local queer community that has demonstrated exceptional commitment to the 2SLGBTQ+ community. From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, MacPhee Centre immediately stepped up to support 2SLGBTQ+ youth, through expanded programming and online activities. Their supportive staff and innovative programming have been a tremendous resource, empowering and building confidence in 2SLGBTQ+ youth. We are honoured to share their work with the community and partner with them in this way.

MacPhee Centre participant, Jennifer, shares that “Self-advocacy is one of the most valuable and applicable skills [youth] learn at the MacPhee Centre. I was taught the value of my voice, self-advocacy, and solidarity. Walking into GSA was completely life changing”.

For more information go to www.macpheecentre.ca or follow @macpheecentre on social media.