Community is Key

Recently I was running errands in my charming, small, Eastern Ontario hometown, and that inevitably leads me to my favorite caffeine dealer...I mean, coffee shop. It's quite a remarkable place for three reasons.

- The pastries are phenomenal.

- The atmosphere is warm and welcoming.

- It is SAFE.

The owners were kind enough to give my son a summer job. When we chatted about it one of the owners mentioned that they had debated about hiring a masculine-presenting person because they need their space to feel safe. They serve many parents of young children and they host women much of the time. They decided to hire my son because he is part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

What makes this particularly powerful is that I have spent time in the past worrying that my son would be rejected because of his identity. In this case his identity had exactly the opposite effect. His employers know that he has a huge capacity for empathy because of his experiences. It has been a beautiful relationship to watch grow.

This is my vision for the future of small towns (and big ones, too!): people who are othered - 2SLGBTQ+ people, Indigenous people, people of colour, people who are neurodiverse, people who are differently abled, to name a few - these people are seen as people who create a safer environment rather than as people to fear.

My son has been embraced as a person who creates a safer environment for vulnerable people and that is empowering to everyone. It's experiences like this that help me sleep at night.