Windsor’s transgender community finds a home

Windsor is a city of firsts. (The first mile of concrete for a road in North America was poured in in 1907.)

On March 26, Windsor hit another milestone in firsts with the announcement of not only Windsor’s first transgender community center but the first standalone federally incorporated not-for-profit in Ontario. After sharing space with a number of community partners spaces until now, W.E. Trans Support will soon call 111 Wyandotte St. W. home.

Jaycee Carver, executive director, said the location was chosen because it’s in the core of the city and accessible to a number of health care professionals.

“Once the doors are open services will concentrate on navigating transgender clients through peer counseling and referrals,” said Carver.

The drop-in center looks to create a family community for people to be supported through their transition, she said.

An official opening will be announced once the facility has completed renovations.

As for a few more Windsor firsts: Alton C. Parker, the Windsor Police Force, became the first black detective in Canada in 1953.  Goodfellows, mostly known for the distribution of food baskets for the poor at Christmas, was the first Canadian city to have a Goodfellow’s organization.