Resources

On-Campus Resources

  • Warm, supportive assistance to students around educational and personal concerns
  • On the Nanaimo campus, contact 250-740-6416 to make an appointment or drop-in to Building 200, 3rd floor
  • On the Cowichan campus call 250-746-3509 for an appointment or drop into Student Affairs

Visit Counselling

  • A safe place, inclusive of all students and the issues they bring, including issues related to sexual orientation, gender, race, ethnicity and culture
  • A group of students committed to equity on campus
  • Hosts activities that raise awareness around important issues. Support your community and get involved. Call 250.754.8866 or see VIUSU Facebook

Visit VIU Students' Union

  • Assistance addressing any concern related to discrimination or harassment
  • Contact 250.740.6430, drop in to Building 300, Room 100, or send an email to DEHR@viu.ca to connect with the Director, Diversity, Equity and Human Rights.

Visit Diversity, Equity & Human Rights Office

  • An alliance of students and employees working to create an equitable and welcoming community at VIU for 2SLGBTQ+ people
  • Contact PositiveSpace@viu.ca with any concerns or to become involved

Visit Positive Space Alliance

Off-Campus Resources

  • Generation Q Weekly Nanaimo-area get-togethers for 2SLGBTQ+ youth
  • Vancouver Island Gay Men (Facebook group for 2SLGBTQ+ men on Vancouver Island)
  • Vancouver Island Gay and Lesbian Rainbow Network (Facebook group)
  • Nanaimo Pride Society (Website)
  • Nanaimo Pride Society (Facebook)
  • Vancouver Island Crisis Line, 1.888.494.3888, online chatroom 7 days a week from 6-10pm, text 250.800.3806, 7 days a week from 6-10pm
  • Options for Sexual Health Sexual and Reproductive health services at 204-285 Prideaux Street. 250.753.9511. Call for appt.
  • Youth Health Clinic – For youth up to age 25. Provides contraception counselling, pregnancy testing, with non-judgmental option counselling and referral, STI testing and treatment. Located at 1665 Grant Avenue. 250.755.3345
  • Communicable Disease Clinic - Counselling and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. Testing and referral for communicable diseases and TB, and Central Island viral hepatitis service. Appointments required. Located at 8 - 1599 Dufferin Crescent. 250.740.2615

Vancouver Island

  • AIDS Vancouver Island – In Nanaimo contact 250.753.2437
  • Trans Vancouver Island
  • Victoria Pride Society
  • Duncan’s Margaret Moss Health Center/Duncan Health Unit - Distributes Plan B to any age despite age restriction to services. Provides contraception counselling, pregnancy testing, with non-judgmental option counselling and referral, STI testing and treatment. Ages 19 and under. 675 Canada Avenue. 250.709.3055

Further Reading

Click on the links below for complete lists of resources on 2SLGBTQIA+ topics in the Vancouver Island University Library.

Periodical articles on 2SLGBTQIA+ topics can be accessed via many of the Library’s online journal article indexes. While anyone can use these resources on campus, license agreements restrict off-campus access to VIU students and employees. For assistance in using article indexes, contact a Reference Librarian: in person at the Nanaimo Campus Library Reference Desk; by telephone at 250-740-6151; or click on the Ask a Librarian button on the Library’s homepage, and fill in the online form.

The following Library resources, just a few of the over 300 2SLGBTQIA+ titles available in the VIU Library, provide useful background for individuals interested in the Positive Space campaign. To get more details on anything in this list, including location and availability, click on the title. Note that Reference books do not circulate. If an item you want is at another campus library, you can use the online Request feature to have it sent to your home campus library. (Distance students, please see the instructions on the Library’s Distance Services page).

Alderson, Kevin. Beyond Coming Out: Experiences of Positive Gay Identity. Toronto: Insomniac Press, 2000.
“ In interviews with sixteen gay men, ages 16 to 61, who have learned to celebrate their homosexuality, Alderson reveals that there are definite patterns to the development of a positive gay identity. His subjects…have very different lifestyles but have all achieved a positive image of themselves as gay men in society, despite their individual hurdles.”—Cover.

Berzon, Betty. Setting Them Straight: You Can Do Something about Bigotry and Homophobia in Your Life. New York: Penguin, 1996.
“ The author provides a unique battle plan for confronting discrimination, whether it comes from strangers or beloved friends and family. Understanding why people hate, the origins of prejudice, how to channel anger, the answers to the rhetoric of bigotry, and how to prevail in homophobic encounters are all a part of Dr. Berzon’s discussion.”—Preface.

Hogan, Steve, and Lee Hudson. Completely Queer: the Gay and Lesbian Encyclopedia. New York: Henry Holt, 1998.
“ A concise and balanced guide to the history, people, places, and ideas important to lesbian and gay communities worldwide. It features a detailed chronology, quotes, little-known facts, reading lists, useful tables, and includes more than 250 photos and illustrations.”—Cover.

Honored by the Moon. New York: Women Make Movies, 1990.
In this film, Native American gays and lesbians reflect upon their sexual orientation.

Rothblum, Esther D., and Lynne A. Bond, eds. Preventing Heterosexism and Homophobia. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1996.
“ The contributors to this informative volume propose methods geared to the elimination of the heterosexual bias in various settings--health care, therapy, communities, corporate America, and education. Ultimately, this book examines both the risks and joys of being gay, lesbian, and bisexual, and how to prevent heterosexism and its effects on the lives of all people, including those of heterosexuals.”—Cover.

Sanno, Ronni L., ed. Working with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender College Students: a Handbook for Faculty and Administrators. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998.
“ This handbook is intended for faculty and administrators who wish to create a welcoming and safe environment for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students on our campuses. It will help readers, even those who may struggle personally with understanding non-heterosexual identities, gain a clearer understanding of the important issues facing these students. Non-heterosexual faculty and staff may also find this work useful as they attempt to discover themselves in academic and educational literature.”—Cover.

Sears, James T., and Walter L. Williams, eds. Overcoming Heterosexism and Homophobia: Strategies that Work. New York: Columbia University Press, 1997.
“ Providing strategies that can be adopted by educators, counselors, community activists and leaders, and those working in the lesbian and gay community, the contributors discuss role-playing exercises, suggestions for beginning a dialogue, methods of "coming out" effectively to family members and coworkers, and outlines for workshops.”—Cover.