Montreal’s trans artists and activists come
together
to show support for community
by ASTT(e)Q
13 October, 2010
- Action Santé Travesti(e)s et Transsexuel(le)s du Québec (ASTT(e)Q) will be holding a community
fundraiser entitled ‘We Live Here!’
on October 16th, 2010 at 9pm at Café Cleopatra. The event will raise
money for ASTT(e)Q’s emergency fund dedicated to supporting homeless
transgender and transsexual individuals who are denied access to housing and
the shelter system. The event will feature prominent artists and activists of
the Montreal trans community, including local cabaret stars, writers and film
makers (additional event details below).
Organizers of this event hope to shine a light on the systemic barriers
to housing and shelter faced by transsexual and transgender people in Montreal.
“Whether kicked out by their family, forced to flee from an abusive partner, or
evicted by a discriminating landlord, trans people are disproportionately at
risk of being on the streets,” says Nora Butler Burke, of ASTT(e)Q, a community
organization providing frontline support to low-income trans people for more
than 12 years.
“When they turn to the shelter system for emergency housing,
trans women and men are all too frequently met with discriminatory treatment.
Unlike in Toronto and New York, where trans people are admitted to shelters on
the basis of their self-identified gender, Montreal’s shelter system has no
consistent admissions policy for trans people, leaving the decision subject to
the discriminatory attitudes of shelter workers, and often ending in
rejection.”
ASTT(e)Q, a project of CACTUS Montreal, offers access to an emergency
fund to pay for short-term housing to individuals for whom shelter has been
denied, allowing the opportunity to seek more long-term housing solutions.
“This stop-gap measure falls incredibly short of addressing the systemic lack
of access to housing for low-income trans people. Yet we feel it is a necessary
response in the face of such neglect from the shelter system and the city of
Montreal,” says Bianca Aponte of ASTT(e)Q. “It is our hope that ‘We Live Here’
will raise the profile of these issues, while also paying tribute to our
community’s vibrant histories of struggle in the face of injustice. We invite
the public at large to come out to show their support and to take part in this
evening of reflection and celebration.”
-30-
Press Release
For interviews:
Nora Butler Burke
Event
details
Saturday October 16, 2010, doors at 9pm, show at 10pm.
Café Cleopatra, 1230 St-Laurent, 2nd floor
$5-10 at the door, no one turned away
Performers:
Including cabaret performers Lili Champagne, Lovely, Mia, Cassandra, Farah,
Dixie-Lee and Michelle de Ville; poet Trish Salah; filmmakers Rémy Huberdeau
and Renaud St-Amour; DJ CPI; and MC of the night, Professor Viviane Namaste.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=155814291107336
About ASTT(e)Q
Action Santé Travesti(e)s et Transsexuel(le)s du
Québec (ASTT(e)Q) is a project of CACTUS Montreal, and was founded in the late
nineties in order to encourage the health and well-being of trans people
through access to resources and support. The organization aims to develop and
strengthen trans people’s social and medical support networks. We also work to
educate health and social service providers regarding transsexuality and gender
variance. We provide information about the medical, social and legal aspects of
trans lives and transitioning.
