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Liane and Julia engaged the GSA members to do a Gallery Walk activity to think about the ideas and things they have learned and what do dream about doing for the next school year.

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Liane tabled at the West Hants Pride alongside Pride Health and did a sensing on Flourishing in West Hants.

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Musquodoboit Rural High GSA - Year in Review

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Musquodoboit Rural High GSA - Year in Review

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Liane and Scott (Publich Health) engaged the GSA members to do a Gallery Walk activity to think about the ideas and things they have learned and what do dream about doing for the next school year.

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Liane presented an ECKP workshop at the Queer Food Conference in Montreal, QC on May 3rd 2026. My Health Promotion university friend, Sam, assisted me during this session.

The workshop participants created a "recipe for flourishing for a newcomer" together.

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2026 2SLGBTQIA+ Affirming Care Conference Report

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2026 2SLGBTQIA+ Affirming Care Conference Report

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2SLGBTQIA+ Affirming Care Conference Program - Updated V3(WITH CME) 3

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Photos from the workshop from Queer Food Conference

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Photos from the workshop from Queer Food Conference

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2SLGBTQIA+ newcomer and refugees + cooking

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2SLGBTQIA+ newcomer and refugees + cooking

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Collaboration with YMCA - Centre for Immigrant Programs
We won the YMCA innovation fund and will be getting $25,000

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2025 2SLGBTQIA+ Affirming Care Conference Report

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2025 2SLGBTQIA+ Affirming Care Conference Report

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Behind Closed Doors - 2SLGBTQIA+ IPV/GBV/DV Prevention 2024

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Behind Closed Doors - 2SLGBTQIA+ IPV/GBV/DV Prevention 2024

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Two Halifax advocates are tackling addictions in the LGBTQ community with their peer support group.

Friends Patrick Maubert and Liane Khoury noticed there wasn't a space for people in their community to share their experiences with addiction and support one another. So, they founded UNtoxicated Queers just after the pandemic began.

Maubert says the group is for people at any stage of addiction or recovery.

"The idea of it is having a safe space to come and to talk about the underlying issues of, you know, why we might feel extra triggered or the need to use substances," Maubert said.

Both Maubert and Khoury are on the Halifax Pride board, and this year they lobbied to create the first adult, sober space at the event.

Khoury is also the health and wellness lead for Pride, and said that it can be a triggering event for those experiencing addictions.

"It made me just realize how important these sober spaces are for queer and trans folks in Halifax and across across the world, really," Khoury said. "I made sure that we pushed harder for that."

Natania Marcus is a psychologist in Toronto who specializes in LGBTQ care. She says people in the community are at a higher risk of mental health challenges and substance use disorders compared to heterosexual and gender normative people.

"That's not because LGBTQ folks are inherently sort of pathological. Really, what we see in the literature is that time and time again, it's connected to minority stress," said Marcus.

Minority stress, Marcus said, is the stress of having to deal with more stigma, discrimination and violence.

"When we see people who use substances, typically it is a way of coping and a way of making it easier to move around in the world."

Roz is a gender-fluid woman and uses she/they pronouns. They have been dealing with addictions since they were 15-years-old. Now, she's a regular member of UNtoxicated Queers.

They say addiction is an isolating experience, especially when you're in the LGBTQ community, and the meet-ups every Saturday help her feel supported and understood.

"Having that connection at this time where I would usually be getting ready to go out or like starting to use for the evening or like, you know, all of that stuff. You can instead go to this space very consistently and you know that there's going to be a good group of people," said Roz.

Roz said Maubert and Khoury have made a big difference in making her feel comfortable at the meetings.

"I think they're very amazing. They have been like a big part of why I have so regularly attended UNtoxicated Queers."

The group was originally supposed to meet in person in Halifax. Because of the pandemic, they decided to host meetings online.

Maubert said it's been a benefit, allowing them to reach more people farther afield, like Roz who lives in Victoria.

"We have the kind of spectrum of care which doesn't often happen in which folks can come and literally just be where you're at on your journey and, I think, feel safe and accepted and a sense of community and love."

UNtoxicated Queers are hosting an event on the evening of July 16 after the Pride parade. There are also sober spaces open every night of Pride celebrations.

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LGBTQ addictions support group bringing connection to community | CBC News

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Two Halifax advocates are tackling addictions in the LGBTQ community with their peer support group. Friends Patrick Maubert and Liane Khoury noticed there wasn't a space for people in their community to share their experiences with addiction and support one another. So, they founded UNtoxicated Queers just after the pandemic began.

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Atlantic Canada >Lifestyles

Patrick Maubert, left, and Liane Khoury are making space available for sober queer folks. They oversee UNtoxicated Queers. - Contributed

For the first time, Halifax Pride is providing a "sober space" at its major night-time events this year.

This addition is thanks, in part, to the work of a local group called UNtoxicated Queers.

"There's a huge population of our queer community who don't engage with the Pride movement simply because it becomes such a party," says Patrick Maubert, co-founder of the group.

"In a way, it's kind of reclaiming the protest aspect or the social change movement."

UNtoxicated Queers initially evolved from the Nova Scotia Health Authority's OUT! Alive advocacy group. For several years, the organization had spearheaded campaigns around addiction issues such as tobacco and gambling. When the OUT! Alive organizer approached Maubert and asked them to take up the mantle, they agreed. Together with Liane Khoury, Maubert recently revamped and revitalized the group.

There was "a real need within our community to have a space - a queer space - that enabled folks to connect about substance use and addiction," says Maubert.

Historically, bars have been some of the only places that felt safe for 2SLGBTQ+ people.

"Folks gathered in bars to create community, so the bar does play a huge influence in our lives," says Khoury.

However, the bar scene isn't safe for everyone. People who are living with addiction, for example, may not feel at ease among partygoers who are drinking.

"How are you going to get community if you can't access these spaces?"

Khoury and Maubert planned to officially launch UNtoxicated Queers in March 2020, but the pandemic trampled any hopes of an in-person gathering. A month later, though, Khoury and Maubert organized the group's first virtual meetings.

- Contributed

"It was out of necessity that we created it online, but I think the online aspect really helped in becoming a space that was so safe," says Maubert. "It really has been an anchor for a lot of people over the last two years."

The meetings have even attracted people from beyond Halifax.

"We've been able to reach across Canada and sometimes across the States," says Khoury. "There is definitely a need for queer recovery spaces across Turtle Island."

Now that large gatherings are possible, UNtoxicated Queers has plans for further in-person meetups and social events: a group hike in September, for instance. But first, they'll be helping to make this year's Halifax Pride more inclusive.

Pride festivals often involve partying, and Halifax's festivities are no different. In addition to their work with UNtoxicated Queers, Maubert and Khoury also happen to be on Halifax Pride's board of directors. They've both used their positions to advocate for sober 2SLGBTQ+ folks.

"Pride is supposed to be for everyone. Why not create sober spaces?" asks Khoury.

This year's sober space will be open during night-time events on the Garrison Grounds, such as the Halifax Pride Comedy Show and The Grind: DJ Dance Party. It isn't an all-ages or family space: it's specifically filling a need for sober adults.

"The idea of it, which we've been very firm on, is this has to be as sexy of a space as the rest of the festival site," says Maubert. "This is not an afterthought. This is, for some people, the destination."

The area includes a "sober bar" serving alcohol-free drinks and mocktails.

"I hope, by doing this, it will encourage folks (to see) that there are options. There are options to meet, congregate, celebrate our queerness and be a little safer in doing so," says Maubert.

Even as in-person gatherings take place, UNtoxicated Queers won't completely let go of its virtual meetups. The group holds weekly Zoom meetings every Saturday evening. The timing, Khoury notes, is deliberate: while people are pre-drinking or planning to go to bars, there is an opportunity to instead say, "Let's go to a meeting."

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PRIDE 2022: UNtoxicated Queers fills a void for the sober 2SLGBTQ+ community | SaltWire

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Atlantic Canada >Lifestyles For the first time, Halifax Pride is providing a "sober space" at its major night-time events this year. This addition is thanks, in part, to the work of a local group called UNtoxicated Queers.

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Liane moderated a panel on creating networks for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community with a focus on rural access to healthcare 2022

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Liane moderated a panel on creating networks for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community with a focus on rural access to healthcare 2022

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The Queer Experience in the Urban Environment 2022

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The Queer Experience in the Urban Environment 2022

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Took a part in a panel on Feb 3, 2022

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Creating Positive Spaces for 2SLGBTQIA+ Newcomers 2022

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Creating Positive Spaces for 2SLGBTQIA+ Newcomers 2022

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Liane had the pleasure of assisting the YMCA's 2SLGBTQIA+ Youth Coordinator with training the staff at the YMCA Immigrant Services on Queer and Trans newcomers needs.

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Roundtable discussion on 2SLGBTQIA+ newcomer and refugees services 2022

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Roundtable discussion on 2SLGBTQIA+ newcomer and refugees services 2022

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Collaboration with YMCA - Centre for Immigrant Programs

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East Coast Kitchen Party: A Ceilidh-Inspired Program to Reduce Social Isolation and Food Insecurity Among LGBTQIA+ Newcomers

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East Coast Kitchen Party: A Ceilidh-Inspired Program to Reduce Social Isolation and Food Insecurity Among LGBTQIA+ Newcomers

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A collaboration from prideHealth and Mental Health and Addiction, we are creating a week of lunch and learns that are geared towards the staff of IWK and NSHA.  Dates for the lunch and learns will be February 28 - March 4th, 2022 12-2pm.

Five different topics will be discussed:
1. Eating Disorders/ Disordered Eating - with Eating Disorder NS
2. Working with 2LGBTQIA+ population in a clinical setting
3. Rainbow Refugees/newcomers - with YMCA - Centre for Immigrant Programs and Rainbow Refugees of NS
4. 2SLGBTQIA+ Elders
5. 2SLGBTQIA+ living in rural communities

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Gender and Sexuality Alliance - Flourishing Workshop - Post Package

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Gender and Sexuality Alliance - Flourishing Workshop - Post Package

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On February 5, 2025. MHA CZ HP team engaged with educators who support GSAs.

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The report from the February 5th workshop

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EDNS are trying to improve their engagement to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community as they have queer- and trans- specific services.

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Part-support group, part-sober events, part-harm reduction initiative. We come together to support, connect and hold space for queer folks in Nova Scotia to engage with community about problematic substance use and addictive behaviours of all kinds.

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As the pandemic fuels addiction and mental health concerns, UNtoxicated Queers helps people in the LGBTQ+ community who are battling drugs and alcohol
S
aturday at 6 p.m. seems like a strange time for a support group meeting. But for people recovering from substance use, the call of addictive behaviours is strongest on Saturday night.

Patrick Maubert and Liane Khoury know how hard it is, so they decided that was the perfect meeting time for their sober support group, UNtoxicated Queers.

"This is when people are starting to think about using or drinking in order to go out for the night, you know? So we're like, let's do a meeting right before and help them with that," says Khoury, a mental health promotor with Nova Scotia Health.

UNtoxicated Queers is a Halifax-based sober support group for the LGTBQ+ community, which meets (currently via Zoom) two Saturdays per month. It grew from OUT Alive, an LGBTQ+ mental health and addictions project. Maubert, a social work student and harm reduction advocate, took over leadership last year, changing the name and structure of the project, but keeping its ethos.

The guiding principle is harm reduction, reducing the harmful effects of substance use rather than promoting strict abstinence. But they aim to welcome people whether they're adhering to abstinence-based recovery or if they're taking another approach.

Maubert says that although the harm-reduction and abstinence approaches don't typically mix, UNtoxicated Queers affirms both.

"Coming together is essential, especially with our population," Maubert says. "Learning from each other with different perspectives has been, I think, quite beneficial."

Meetings focus on sharing, listening, and mindfulness. They start with introductions, a safer spaces statement, and a land acknowledgement. Then, the group will pick three topics related to recovery and queerness, and members will share their thoughts and emotions with each other. The meeting ends with a five-minute guided meditation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic increase in anxiety and loneliness for many Canadians. According to Statistics Canada, Canadians who reported poor mental health during the pandemic were also more likely to report an increase in alcohol and drug use.

In a study of the experiences of queer Canadians during the pandemic, LGBTQ+ participants scored higher than non-LGBTQ+ participants on scales measuring depression, anxiety, stress, and symptoms of PTSD. LGBTQ+ participants were also more likely to use drugs and alcohol to cope. In a survey of American LGBTQ+ university students, 32% of respondents reported that they were drinking more alcohol since the pandemic started.

Even before the pandemic, studies have shown that gay, bisexual, lesbian, and transgender people are at higher risk for substance use disorders than the general population.

"Looking at addictions and how prevalent it is within the queer community brings it home," says Maubert, who is also in recovery, "the numbers are staggering."

UNtoxicated Queers is creating a space for those who do not feel comfortable in groups populated primarily by cis-gender and heterosexual people.

Peri (name changed due to privacy concerns) has been attending UNtoxicated Queers since December 2020. She says she was looking for a sober support group that would fully accept her as a queer, transgender woman.

"You just don't know how people are going to react to that," Peri says. "it was another barrier to entry of not only going to a sober support meeting, but also being queer and trans in a space that's usually kind of dominated by cis-het people."

Peri felt more comfortable opening up about her recovery because she knew that other members of the group were coming from similar backgrounds. She says that people are able to share traumatic experiences, struggles with shame, or stories of marginalization in an understanding space.

"People [in the group] that I really respect and admire and I think are doing really, really good work and live good lives, they also struggle with the same type of stuff that I deal with," Peri says.

Peri knows how difficult it can be to take the leap and join a sober support group. She's already been telling the queer people in her own life about positive experience she's had with the group.

She says that people are often hesitant to join a sober support group because they don't want to be defined as a "real" addict. She says there's a built-in confidentiality clause: what someone shares in a meeting stays in that meeting.

"I always get really excited when someone is like 'this is my first meeting,'" Peri says. "Every [meeting] I've ever been in is really encouraging of people joining."

Keegan (last name withheld), a queer man, learned about UNtoxicated Queers after entering rehab in Annapolis Valley last year for cocaine addiction. He decided to attend a meeting after trying other meetings where he felt that he couldn't be open about his queer identity.

"UNtoxicated Queers has definitely given me a safer environment to really explore what sobriety means to me," he explains. "I'm not feeling like this lone wolf in these other meetings where I, a lot of the time, was the only queer person."

He says that UNtoxicated Queers isn't as rigid as groups like Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous, where participants stick to a prescribed program. Such programs can be effective, but he says that UNtoxicated Queers can be more accessible for newcomers or people who don't feel they're able to be completely sober.

"Even if your goal is just to use less on a weekend or something, that's still valid," Keegan says.

For decades, gay bars have been safe havens for members of the LGBTQ+ community to gather together and be themselves. They continue to provide specifically queer spaces where LGBTQ+ people can meet, interact, dance, watch drag shows, and yes, consume alcohol and other substances.

Although gay bars are meant to be positive spaces, they can be alienating for members of the LGBTQ+ community recovering from problematic substance use. Keegan says he feels like he's missing out on parts of LGBTQ+ life because he doesn't feel comfortable in gay bars at the moment.

"Even if I look at Pride, it almost became synonymous for me as a week where I was going to go on a coke binge," Keegan says.

He hopes that when in-person gatherings are allowed again, groups like UNtoxicated Queers can create more sober queer spaces and events.

Maubert and Khoury are both on the board of Halifax Pride, and they're aiming to change the association between Pride events and heavy drinking and substance use. In the summer of 2020, they held one of the first-ever in-person UNtoxicated Queers events as part of Halifax Pride.

"It was really nice, not having the pressure to drink at Pride," Khoury says.

They want to begin having more in-person sober events once they're able to safely. Until then, they're going to continue holding UNtoxicated Queers twice a month.

"When we talk about our experiences on such an open and honest level, it's magical," says Keegan. "It just makes you proud to be queer. It makes you proud that we have some imagination in our community that allows for such a broader way to tackle substance use and to really validate each other's pain, whatever that may be."

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Clear heads, open hearts | Halifax Magazine

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As the pandemic fuels addiction and mental health concerns, UNtoxicated Queers helps people in the LGBTQ+ community who are battling drugs and alcohol S aturday at 6 p.m. seems like a strange time for a support group meeting. But for people recovering from substance use, the call of addictive behaviours is strongest on Saturday night.

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We met with members of South House to discuss the intersections of mental wellness, queerness, and sobriety. It was a beautiful event with lots of wonderful sharing.

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UQ was interviewed for ways to support sober and newly-sober people in meaningful ways.

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UQ was interviewed for ways to support sober and newly-sober people in meaningful ways.

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To read more click: https://saltwire.pressreader.com/the-dartmouth-wire?fbclid=IwAR1upvO5HozgD-uCqFsHqOjVieT2LB1BL87WnRb72lI3TeuPoDqm32x65VY

Posted on January 12, 2021

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Presented to Medical Residents on creating 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusive clinics. Presented with Dr Hali Bauld (Medical Director of HSHC) 2021

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Presented to Medical Residents on creating 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusive clinics. Presented with Dr Hali Bauld (Medical Director of HSHC) 2021

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Presented on January 21, 2021

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Liane was invited by a student group from the Child and Youth Care program at NSCC to have a little chat about the ways they can support their 2SLGBTQIA+ Youth and create safer spaces. It was genuinely beautiful having folks open up about their lives and their passions.

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A beautiful image to capture our time together

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A beautiful image to capture our time together

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2024 2SLGBTQIA+ Affirming Care Conference

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2024 2SLGBTQIA+ Affirming Care Conference

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2023 2SLGBTQIA+ Affirming Care Conference

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2023 2SLGBTQIA+ Affirming Care Conference

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Liane presented the East Coast Kitchen Party model at Metropolis Social Determinants of Health Conference in Gatineau, QC on October 3rd, 2023

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Presented UQ to the CBRC Atlantic forum 2022

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Presented UQ to the CBRC Atlantic forum 2022

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Feb 12, 2022

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We submitted an abstract to present a poster at the PHAC conference

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Eastern Shore Queer Wellbeing Post Package

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Eastern Shore Queer Wellbeing Post Package

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Eastern Shore Queer Wellbeing Post Package

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Liane steps down from co-leading in 2025

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Liane steps down from co-leading in 2025

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Eastern Shore Consolidated School GSA Post package

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Eastern Shore Consolidated School GSA Post package

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Musquodoboit Rural High School GSA Post Package

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Musquodoboit Rural High School GSA Post Package

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What the ideal community looks like to queer youth living rurally

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What the ideal community looks like to queer youth living rurally

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The GSA Advisor Network is a space hosted by MHA Health Promoters, Julia and Liane, to connect advisors from different HRCE schools.

Encouraging connection and support through this network aims to foster flourishing GSA communities in each school.

Monthly meetings planned with advisors for the 2026-27 school year. Most virtual with one in-person gathering in February 2027. More details TBD.