From navigating gender-affirming healthcare to overcoming administrative hurdles, trans youth are working with Pathways staff to chart their own paths forward.
Pathways program staff know that if you take the time to listen, young people will tell you what’s going on in their lives: their interests, their dreams, and what they’re struggling with. That’s how Pathways Matane director Jacynthe Lepage came to learn that in rural areas, trans youth like Élyo need more support.
“I honestly felt so intimated by all of the government procedures related to transitioning,” says Élyo, a program alum from Matane. “Pathways was a really important support for me.”
Regardless of where they live, trans youth face a wide range of challenges. They encounter transphobia at school, at work, and within their own families. But as Jacynthe explains, Matane’s rural context adds another layer of complexity.
“I have a cousin in Montreal who is the same age as many trans youth we serve at Pathways Matane,” she says. “The care he received quickly would have taken years to get in a rural area like ours.”
In Matane, limited access to healthcare means that there are even fewer doctors willing to advise on gender-affirming care. It’s also a challenge to get name-change documents notarized. And for youth experiencing poverty or unstable housing, the administrative requirements of the gender-affirmation process can be especially difficult. Missing one letter or phone call can mean having to restart the entire process—or being forced to give up altogether.
“For a young person, deciding to come out already takes a lot of courage. But when you take these factors into consideration, it becomes a real obstacle course,” Jacynthe explains. “Just to exist, just to be themselves, they have to figure all of this out on their own.”
It’s a disheartening reality, but Jacynthe decided that Pathways Matane could do something to help.
The first thing she did was apply for the power to notarize documents. It was a practical step that meant she could help youth complete key paperwork, like name change requests, without having to repeatedly tell their story to someone who may not understand or believe them.
Next, she established partnerships with local 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations like Uniphare, based in Rimouski, a region west of Matane on Quebec’s south shore. Together, they started providing youth with gender-affirming items that are difficult to find in rural areas, like binders and prosthesis.
“Pathways offers a listening ear in a particularly trans-inclusive environment,” says Élyo. “The collaboration with Uniphare meant that I was able to access gender-affirming items.”
Jacynthe quickly noticed how much of a difference these services were making in young people’s lives.
“Some of the youth we serve couldn’t even look at themselves in the morning. They couldn’t face their own reflection. With their binder, they carry themselves differently. They’re more confident,” Jacynthe says.
There is now a small but active community of trans youth at Pathways Matane. In a rural context with fewer visible trans people, those in the program stay connected through a group chat. They coordinate their schedules and attend programming together. A trans volunteer is part of the program community, and staff keep a list of trans-inclusive resources in the area.
All of this work happens on top of the regular Pathways Program. For Jacynthe and her team, there’s still tutoring to organize, mentors to find, and financial support to administer. But creating spaces where every young person belongs is part of that work.
This impact can be felt in the broader community. Last summer, Jacynthe helped organize Matane’s second ever Pride Walk. Local media showed up, and while the team expected about 20 attendees, more than twice that number came out. “All our Pathways youth were there, the trans youth, but also many other young people from the 2SLGBTQIA+ community,” says Jacynthe. “It became clear there was a real need to gather.”
Now, Jacynthe’s efforts are gaining recognition throughout the region. Other community organizations are eager to develop partnerships with Pathways Matane. Parents who were unfamiliar with gender transitions have reached out for guidance on how to best support their child.
“We’ve developed a kind of expertise here. Young people feel very comfortable coming to confide in us or ask for help. They say, ‘I know who I am, but I don’t know how to move forward,’ and that’s where we try to help.”