Every March 31 is International Transgender Day of Visibility, an event that provides an
opportunity to recognize the resilience and accomplishments of the transgender community.
To support transgender individuals and the greater 2SLGBTQIA+ community, CMHA Algoma offers the Central Access and Information service, where you can speak with an Access Worker who will be able to provide you with information and referrals to the mental health and addictions services that are available in the Algoma District.
A transgender person is someone whose gender identity is different from the gender they were
assigned at birth. CMHA Algoma stands with our transgender community and recognizes the
prejudices and barriers transgender individuals continue to face in society. In fact, it was only
four years ago, in 2019, that the World Health Organization stopped designating “transsexualism” as a mental disorder.
According to Statistics Canada, compared to cisgender individuals, transgender people are far
more likely to experience poor mental health and mental illness. In a 2018 survey, only 34 per
cent of transgender individuals self-rated their mental health as positive, 65 per cent self-rated
their mental health as fair or poor, nearly half had seriously contemplated suicide, and 61 per
cent had been diagnosed with a mood or anxiety disorder.
To help improve supports and services for 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, including transgender
people, in post-secondary education, the Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health has
created a toolkit that addresses the ways in which students may be faced with challenges and
barriers on campus due to their queer identity, how those challenges may be invisible to those
in positions of support and provides recommendations to address those barriers. Read Invisible Intersections: A Toolkit on Supporting 2SLGBTQ+ Students on Campus.
Get more information on mental health services for gender-diverse individuals here.