MAX Ottawa is strengthening the fabric of GBT2Q+ guys in the capital region
On March 2, 2020, MAX Ottawa celebrated its third-year anniversary. It marks three years of raising awareness, building communities, and providing education and social support to individuals, communities, and service providers – three years of helping to create a vision of guys into guys taking care of themselves and each other!
To celebrate, MAX hosted The Fabric! This exciting event celebrated our dynamic community. Over 40 community members joined us to honour this milestone. We played queer trivia with local Drag Queen Kimmy Lee Dymond, gave out prizes, and enjoyed seeing old friends as well as making new ones. Special thank you Venus Envy and Bridgehead Coffee for your generous prize donations, and to 3 Brewers for hosting us.
What is “The Fabric?”
The “Fabric” celebrated MAX’s roots with our first campaign “Get Connected.” The “Fabric” is made by our powerful partnerships and resilient communities coming together. The tighter the weave, or the more positive connections created when the community comes together, the stronger the fabric.
The MAX community has made significant leaps to make access to health and wellness easier for GBT2Q+ guys. We have done this by addressing barriers to mental health services through our Mental Health Navigation, increasing access to PrEP via our Equip campaign, encouraging community-led social spaces through our Community MAXimizer program, and educational workshops, such as Behind the Scene. These programs and initiatives are some of the ways that make MAX Ottawa’s health and wellness connection for guys into guys.
In 2019, MAX launched our five strategic directions: navigating health and wellness: fostering community-led spaces; building partnerships; solidifying our organization; and laying the groundwork for an integrated health hub. These guiding principles are helping us move forward in redefining health and wellness for guys into guys in the capital region. Together, our network of passionate and engaged community members and allies, we will continue to strive to keep strengthening the fabric for many years to come.
Writing credit at Jason Kung and Robert Alsberry
