TransEstrie has managed to secure enough funding through generous community donations and timely provincial government support to keep its doors open for at least another year.
The organization supports and represents trans and non-binary people in the Eastern Townships. According to TransEstrie co-founder Séré Beauchesne-Lévesque, Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barette swooped in and provided $20,000 from his own discretionary budget.
“We asked him for help to ensure we wouldn’t have to close and he responded positively. So now with the donations and the money from the government we’re able to stay open and we won’t have to close tomorrow like we thought,” said Beauchesne-Lévesque.
For a while it was looking like the organization would be forced to shut down on April 1. But Beauchesne-Lévesque told The Record that they’ve surpassed their fundraising goal by nearly $10,000. They have raised nearly $35,000 in just a few weeks through local donations.
They also received positive news from the federal government. The organization will be given an additional $126,000 for its capacity reinforcement project. However, Beauchesne-Lévesque explained that it can’t be used as support for direct services to the community.
“We’re really happy that we got all of this money, but it’s not enough. We need $300,000 to be able to function at an optimal rate to help all of the people that need help. Obviously we’re not there, but we can keep the doors open, so that’s good,” Beauchesne-Lévesque said.
