QTBIPOC Grassroots Communities as Collective Life: (Re)Building Through Times of Upheaval

During times of upheaval, queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, and people of colour (QTBIPOC) are some of the most affected. Anti-2SLGBTQ+ hate is on the rise, while funding for 2SLGBTQ+ programs and services is simultaneously being cut. Despite this, QTBIPOC people find a way to take care of one another as collective life. This presentation examines grassroots communities and initiatives in Toronto led by QTBIPOC people, using the QuArtz Cluster and Asian Queer Alliance as case studies of how community can be built from the ground up to fill gaps in formal services and respond to community-defined needs and desires.