Windsor becoming a draw for trans community

Windsor-Essex Trans Support celebrated its first Transgender Day of Visibility.

The day has been recognized on March 31 since 2010. It started as a way to celebrate the accomplishments trans people have made around the globe, according to U.S.-based Trans Student Educational Resources.

Locally, W.E. Trans became federally incorporated as a non-profit organization in September 2017. Many of the group’s members are from the area, but there are some who have traveled distances to be part of Windsor’s trans community.

“This is the best kind of trans community that we have … I go to London for my medical stuff, but as far as an agency that’s sort of holistic, really Windsor is the only place in this area. I think you’d have to go to the GTA to find something similar,” said Janet Macbeth, a board member for W.E. Trans who makes the almost two-hour drive from Walpole Island to be at the organization’s meetings and events.

“I think it’s so unique, what W.E. Trans is and does for this community. So it’s not just a Windsor thing, it’s a regional thing for this whole area.”

Other members of the W.E. Trans community in Windsor including Nick Cook have lived many places in Ontario but still choose to settle in Windsor because of the support offered by the trans community.

Cook has been transitioning for three years and said in his experience, people in Windsor have not always been the most LGBTQ friendly, but the help he has received through W.E. Trans was more than enough to make him want to stay.

“My most positive experiences and reasons for staying in Windsor is coming here and connecting with other trans people for actually the first time,” said Cook.

“I will likely stay here the rest of my life because everything is turning around, everything is better.”

W.E. Trans vice president Derrick Biso moved to Windsor from across the country two years ago for the same reasons.

“Windsor is becoming notable as a safe place, as a strong community,” said Biso.

“For myself, coming from Prince Edward Island, there’s resources here with active engagement saying, ‘you’re welcome here.’ That wasn’t really happening in P.E.I.”

Executive director and founder of W.E. Trans Jayce Carver said the draw to the community and growth of the organization have come from creating a safe space to get together and relate to each other.

They will soon have more space to do this, recently acquiring their own building which they hope to move into and open by the end of April.