#PrideMonthInterview: Into the Streets with Jaye Kovach

“Trans Women are Women” artwork by Cat Haines, founder of Into the Streets.

In 2023 we have seen the United States legislators reverse social progress with many demonizing trans people, groups like Into the Streets and other activists are going the other way by creating an amazing supportive community within Regina. “Into the Streets” has historically been used as a rallying cry for queer and trans activism, and we got to hear from a local activist on this topic. We caught up with Jaye Kovach, Program Director of Into the Streets, to discuss this up-and-coming trans women and youth affected by misogyny mentorship group, and she shared different experiences that led her to be part of Into the Streets. Into the Streets is a paid peer mentorship program for Two-Spirit, trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people who were assigned male at birth or are otherwise affected by transmisogyny and who are between the ages of 15 and 25.

What’s your story?

Into the Streets was created by one of my partners, Cat Haines, and she was in the role that I am in right now, as program director. I took over the contract at the start of May. I was doing some work for them before that so it wasn’t a big adjustment. I am the interim programming director and I hope to see the project through to the end of July.

Initiative:

The main thing we are doing right now is piloting a mentorship program for trans girls and youth affected by trans misogyny. Each youth mentor is paired with an anchor mentor that is somebody that has organizing and activist experience within the community and is also a trans woman or trans misogyny affected as a way to build intergenerational solidarity and allow them to pass on some of their skills to the younger generation and offer guidance on how to make lasting change within their communities.

What do you find most important that you are doing for the community?

For me, it’s really the intergenerational solidarity that is a big part of it. Growing up my partner had never been around trans women or trans people at all in Regina until she moved away. Similarly, I knew a few people when I was 19 but generally, the community is very stratified in terms of age and the different generations of queer and trans people, and there's not as much overlap as what would be really beneficial. We all need elders, and we all need mentors so we are trying to foster that for trans girls and TMA youth.

What’s the most inspiring moment you’ve witnessed with Into the Streets?

We just started, we just had our first event to introduce all of the youth mentors to the anchor mentors and it was so nice. We met at Hampton Hub and cooked a meal for the community fridge. While people were cooking they were able to hang out and get to know each other a bit. All of the matches were really solid and there was this really strong sense of joy in the room. That is the thing I really appreciate, often with trans stories we talk about trauma and difficult things, so trans joy is really important to foster.

What part of the impact you’re making makes you most proud?

I am also one of the anchor mentors as well because that was initially how I was involved with the project. It’s been really lovely being paired with someone who has a similar identity to mine, and watching them come into their own a little bit or realize some of the things that I wish I would have realized at that age that took me longer because I didn’t have someone like me to learn from or didn’t know it was possible. It has been really cool to see them grow and I hope that continues throughout the project.

What do you want Regina to know about Into the Streets?

That we exist and need support. This is a pilot project so a lot of the funding came from UR Pride through a grant they had with the Canadian Service Corps that was about getting youth to volunteer. They had a project called Sask QTY that was about building capacity with queer and trans youth to get them to volunteer and make a change in their communities. This project grew out of that a little bit, but it is only enough funding to do a one-year pilot. In the future, we are looking to find more funding in a couple of places and hopefully prove that this is something needed and valuable.

What is the biggest barrier trans people encounter in Regina?

There are so many. One of the ones we are really focused on breaking down a little bit is the generational siloing that happens. Part of why that happens is right-wing fascists saying that trans people are groomers, that any involvement with youth is corrupting the youth and turning them trans because they don’t believe that trans youth exist. That’s something that my partner has faced in her activism, where she has been called a groomer or a pedophile. It really creates this climate where for a trans woman it is really hard to have relationships with people younger than yourself, especially youth that are under the age of 18 because there's this idea that we’re grooming and I wonder what it would be like if people could see trans women thriving at a younger age. How many more people and youth would feel empowered to come out and be their authentic selves?

How can Regina’s community improve on this?

It’s really tough. I think there needs to be a lot of buy-in from people that are in positions of power and have them realize that trans people right now are under attack globally and that this is something worth fighting for. I talk to so many people and they don’t know how bad it is, but then it’s like okay, now you know and you need to do something about it. Frankly, I don’t have all of the answers and it’s not on trans people to figure out what a solution is. Municipally, they are doing research into 2SLGBTQ+ acceptance in Regina and what that can look like, and what is needed. I think making sure that doesn’t go poorly is really important. One of the things I always say about fighting fascism in all of these systems is to defund the cops, that's part of this puzzle too.

What are the biggest biases that trans people face?

I talked a little bit about trans women being positioned as groomers or pedophiles for wanting to have completely normal intergenerational relationships. I think that is so damaging. I have been involved with GRR (formerly Girls Rock Regina) and it has been such a lovely experience, and I remember when I first started volunteering for them I was really apprehensive because I was worried about the parents being upset over me and what would they do, and how would that unfold. Thankfully, nothing has been a problem yet. We're stronger together and creating a situation where youth have no mentorship or support from elders really damages the community. Growing up and still now I don't consider myself to have anyone as a trans elder in my life. It’s really rough when you look around and you don’t see any elders or mentors because you wonder “Am I the first one?” because transness is always positioned as a new thing. But no, you are not the first one. You wonder how these people survived and what it was like to grow older, and all of these questions that you can’t really go out and ask your older friend. I am hoping that is something that can be changed with this program.

What is the future of Into the Streets?

Hopefully, we can find more funding, and we would be able to run the program again, while also working on other initiatives. The structure of the program right now is monthly workshops for the anchor and youth mentors around event planning and activism. We have one coming up about movement and healing and how that relates to justice. I think that is something really important for trans people to feel embodied, and a lot of us struggle with that. We also have monthly events for trans women and nonbinary people who are affected by trans misogyny. This month is bowling and it's open to people who aren't part of the mentorship cohort as a way of building community. I hope we can foster intergenerational solidarity among trans women and TMA folks for more than just this year.

What are the long-term consequences if we ignore the voice of the 2SLGBTQ+ community?

I mean, specifically, right now trans people and largely trans women are the focus of legislative attacks in the United States. If you have time, look at what is happening in Florida and some of the laws that have passed. They have created a situation where it is not really legal to be trans anymore. I think the future is a much more puritanical society where gender norms are very rigid but at the same time, that is not going to make trans people go away. Trans people have existed as long as people have existed, it's just a matter of how much persecution happens and what kind of lives people can have in and around all of the bullshit. I am really hoping that cis people listen and anybody who claims to care about fighting fascism in their community really starts to take a stand. It does affect everybody. The fight for access to abortion is intimately tied to the fight for trans healthcare because it's all about bodily autonomy and what we're allowed to do with our bodies and who has the final say in that. I frankly, would hate to live in a world where I didn’t have control over my own body.