The peer support training program will train volunteers on how to offer intersectional, anti-oppressive, harm reductive, non-directional, and non-judgmental active listening support for free. These individuals will be trained on a variety of topics, such as suicide, gender, race, mental health and sexuality for a period of 6 months in order to ensure that they could best support our clientele who are at the intersections of being racialized, trans and/or non-binary, gay, non-status, and disabled to name a few. The knowledge offered will come from individuals who themselves are at these intersections. Moreover, once completing the peer support training program, “graduates” will have the ability to continue their learning as in-depth workshops are offered throughout the year.

The peer support drop-in is the active listening service that we offer for free, which is especially important for marginalized communities where financial scarcity is prevalent. For many years our peer support drop-in service has been a safer space for marginalized students and the wider LGBTQIAS2+ Montreal community as there are rarely peer supporters available on campus who have been trained to understand the unique challenges specific to LGBTQIA2S students; especially trans and/or non-binary students. Additionally, our drop-in service has been used by students from all walks of life who desire a space where they could talk to their fellow peers who have similar experiences as them and who are well-trained to provide active listening.