About LGBTQ Health Matters Week

LGBTQ Health Matters Week is an annual health awareness campaign designed to promote the health and well-being of LGBTQ people in Ontario.

The goal is to inform our communities of the local health care resources available to them, while at the same time educating and engaging LGBTQ people around important health issues.

We encourage LGBTQ people to think about health in its social context, to examine the impact of different types of discrimination on our wellbeing, and to imagine healthier communities for us all.

The Second Annual LGBTQ Health Matters Week will kick off on Monday April 13, 2009, and will be celebrated until April 19, 2009.

History of LGBTQ Health Matters Week

This initiative is coordinated by Rainbow Health Ontario and the LGBT Program at Sherbourne Health Centre. It is based on the annual community health fair, Queer Health Matters, which was held in partnership with the Rainbow Health Network from 2004-2007 in Toronto. This one-day event featured workshops on new and emerging health issues in the LGBTQ communities, research presentations and various community organizations sharing information about their programs and services.

The format was expanded to a week in 2008 in order to increase access for participants as well as to highlight the increasing diversity of LGBTQ health and social service programming available in the city of Toronto.

In 2009, we are growing yet again. With the launch of Rainbow Health Ontario, LGBTQ Health Matters Week is now a province-wide initiative in Ontario.

Why Celebrate LGBTQ Health Matters Week?

We all deserve to be healthy, regardless of our age, race, income, ability, sexual orientation or gender identity. Being healthy means taking care of our physical, emotional, sexual, psychological and spiritual needs. For LGBTQ people, this can be a challenge given the stress of dealing with prejudice and discrimination. Getting good health care can also be hard as health care providers may be homophobic, biphobic or transphobic and many providers may not know much about LGBTQ health issues.

It is important to celebrate LGBTQ Health Matters Week to provide opportunities for both LGBTQ people and healthcare providers to learn about steps we can take to improve our health and the health of our communities.

During LGBTQ Health Matters Week it is important to remind queer and trans people that taking care of ourselves and each other is essential to living longer, healthier and happier lives.