I grew up and spent most of my life in England, and for the most part it was made pretty clear to me from a young age that I wasn't like most of the other kids. That became more apparent when I went to secondary school, I hadn't quite figured myself out, yet everyone else seemed to have done so for me. I never even actually came out, I never needed to there, people made the assumption and took swift action, throughout the years I spent there I had been torn down, by the abuse I faced from other students, and by the teachers who ignored it. We didn't have any type of policy in place for the ones that wanted to help. And I wasn't the only one, I know that now, but it felt like I was. When I found out we were moving to Canada I was excited, but I remember one day I didn't know if I'd even make it there, we had three months left before we moved and this kid much bigger than me had decided to get particularly mean, my teacher at the time sat and let it happen, and I started crying to my friend next to me, I remember saying “I don't think I'm gonna make it three months.”
But I did, and I went to a school where I was accepted, where I wasn't abused by my peers and ignored by my teachers, I've been able to forgive those in my past, I've been able to grown into what I am today, and that's because of how much easier things were made for me. I've been able to work with OUTreach, meet some of the most inspiring and wonderful people I could ever have met, done things I never though I could possibly do and make this policy a reality and I still sometimes think it's not real. But the fact that we have again have to fight to keep it is disheartening, to say the least. I thank District 51 for their work, and their support in this, this isn't a story I usually share, but I feel its needed. We need to protect the future, so that they may have an easier life that so many in our community has had.
~ T

My name is Bobby Fallon. I am a queer person who was in the Alberta school system in the 80’s. I remember my time at school and how much I hated it. There were gay slurs abundantly thrown around and very little outward support. I felt like my peers would ostracize me and the teachers would allow me to be picked on. My class was responsible for tormenting three students out of that particular school. I felt that I had to hide who I was just to survive in my environment. I hated being turned into a liar. I hated going to school every day and when I reached high school I started skipping classes, little at first, then a lot. When I skipped school I would do things like go to the public library or donate blood so I wasn’t a “slow” or “troubled” kid I just hated the environment of the school system. I eventually dropped out and got a minimum wage job for a fast food company and stayed employed with them for over twenty years. In 2011 I decided to go back to school, took a test, and to my amazement didn’t need upgrading to be accepted into post-secondary. I wasted twenty three years of my life feeling like school was destructive to my mental well-being. I am lucky I have a second chance. I do not want any other kid to feel as alone and hidden as I felt. All students deserve an environment to help them succeed at learning.