TRANScend is a gender identity-focused art based workshop series designed to support middle and high school. During the school year, we run programs in the schools, and in the summer, we seek to promote the maintenance of queer connection through one-off programs about every two weeks. This program specifically engages transgender, gender-diverse, and LGBTQ+ youth while welcoming allies, creating a safe and inclusive space for self-expression, identity exploration, and peer fellowship. 

Each session aims to integrate a fun project with conversations that increase self-awareness and self-affirming confidence while addressing stigma, discrimination, and the social and political challenges faced by youth. Through artistic expression, students gain a deeper understanding of their identities and the intersectionality of these experiences in their daily lives and broader society.

TRANScend is offered free of charge to all participants, with each workshop session accommodating 12 to 18 students. The program is designed with flexibility, allowing new participants to join at any stage. Each session is led by an LGBTQ+ peer artist guiding the creative activities, with a gender diverse, clinically trained OTL staff providing supervision and support. The program is also open to collaborative partnerships with sibling organizations and other service providers to enhance its impact.

Each engagement offers the youth opportunity to direct conversations on topics that impact them: family culture and its impact on acceptance, social media culture, stress management, safe relationships, racialized gender norms, safer sex, and more. These spaces to learn, play, and talk about the challenges specific to being gender diverse and young are so valuable. They also model successful adulthood as queer and trans adults, which is important to see in a population that often struggles to visualize a non-stigmatized future for themselves.