Prairie non-profit pairs free fashion, mental health support for LGBTQ community
CBC
In high school, Samuel Braemer used fashion to try to hide his sexuality.
He says that at the time, he didn't want his style to express too much. He avoided bright, bold colours and patterns.
"It wasn't really until after high school, when I came out to my family and friends and I was really on this journey of accepting myself and finding myself, that I started to express myself through fashion," said Braemer.
Now the 33-year-old from Winnipeg is helping others within the LGBTQ community find their individual style through his newly-formed non-profit organization, Transforming Style.
It's open to anyone in the community facing socio-economic barriers.
Braemer said the non-profit's process — which he calls a "style journey" — starts when a client requests a private consultation online.
From there, the team learns more about the person — who they are and how they want fashion to reflect that. The virtual consults are followed up with an in-person session to try on clothes and sometimes a second meeting to complete the wardrobe.
"We want folks to be able to be true to themselves and feel comfortable and confident in who they are," said Braemer, who previously worked as a stylist in several Canadian cities including Toronto.
"What we like to say is that we are breaking down barriers, building confidence and creating a network of support one style at a time."
The Transforming Style team of about 10 people, including beauty consultants, curates each personal collection of clothing, footwear, accessories, jewelry and handbags from items donated by the public.
WATCH| How Transforming Style uses fashion to help people within LGBTQ community:
As the work commences on the outside, there's also healing from within. The non-profit provides free mental health support to ensure a holistic approach to its work.
"We found that there are some great organizations out there that offer mental health support, but the wait times — especially given COVID — can be anywhere from six months to a year," Braemer said.
"That was just, in my mind, not acceptable because folks need that immediate support."
The amount of money it takes for people to earn a living wage has increased across the province, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The new owner of Ontario steelmaker Stelco says his company "will not disappoint the people of Hamilton and Nanticoke," where the business's major facilities are based.
A Winnipegger is warning others about an intricate scam she says she almost fell for.
Fort William First Nation is opposing a planned redevelopment of the Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) 117 year old Kakabeka Falls Generating Station, which is located in their traditional territory.
A building that sits at the corner of Sussex Street and Brunswick Avenue has had many lives over the last century — being a church, a school and offices. Now it's set to become housing, at a time when the city sorely needs it.
A Waterloo, Ont., elementary school principal will be sentenced in the new year after pleading guilty to child sexual exploitation charges following a joint investigation that involved the London, Toronto and Waterloo police services.
Students at UPEI have let their student union know what they want from the province this fiscal year, and those priorities are reflected in a 2024-2025 advocacy document brought to the legislature on Wednesday.
Larger communities in the N.W.T. will soon see a boost in their territorial funding to maintain infrastructure and deliver services — like water and waste management — but the increase still falls short of what communities need.
The toxic drug crisis has taken more than 47,000 lives in Canada since 2016 and the synthetic opioid fentanyl has become a household name. But now, what's believed to be an even more potent class of synthetic drugs is showing up in drug busts across the country: nitazenes.
The Liberal government and the NDP have agreed to introduce a two-month GST vacation on certain items before the holiday season, Radio-Canada has learned.
Veterinarians are warning Londoners to make sure their dogs are vaccinated and keeping clean after a deadly virus outbreak was declared in London this week.