19 Oct 2026 2 min read

Fall 2026

Hey relatives!

It's been a busy fall– here's some of how we showed up in community:

NYSHN’s Salish Seas team ran our first Sexy Health Carnival since COVID last week! We were hosted by the nursing team at the Songhees Wellness Centre in lkwungen (the place to smoke herring). We were so happy to visit with local relatives and youth 💜

If you’d like to host a Sexy Health Carnival in your community, Indigenous Youth Roots has just launched their 3rd round of intake for their Creation grants. The smaller $5,000 Youth Empowerment Stream can be a great fit for starting a carnival in your own community, intake for applications closes November 15th. Click here to learn more. 💸

Our tiohtià:ke relatives got busy this fall, beading condoms with the youth at Project 10's drop in.

Condom Beading Workshops really give us a chance to connect with young people in a calmer, small-group session. We get to hold space for the quiet questions that can't always emerge in the hubbub of a carnival or busy community event– nia:wen to the young people who came out to try something new!

Youthleaders in Amiskwaciy-wâskahikan (ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋᐋᐧᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ) spent the summer and early fall tabling with sexual health and harm reduction materials at Chinatown After Dark, a grassroots youth-lead effort working together for community spaces in Edmonton's China town.

All of the above events were at least partially funded by NYSHN's community-raised donations and savings. Thank you so much for supporting our work 💟

What's coming up:

If you’re based out of tsi: tkaronto (GTA) here’s a couple things on our radar:

Intersex Canada is hosting a gathering next weekend (October 24th-26th 2026) in Mississauga! Free for community members and folks with grassroots ties, we may have a youthleader in attendance with their accessibility and support crew! Click here to learn more.

A drawing of five people of diverse heritage and age emerging from a book and holding hands, with symbols of dialogue bubbles, a globe, a dove, and plants emerging in the background. Colors are shared with intersex pride (yellow, purple, black, white,) and green — Intersex Canada 2026 Conference Image

Come As You Are is wrapping a year of life drawing classes at the sex supply co-op! They’ve generously offered proceeds from the silent auction to support NYSHN’s grassroots work, and you can participate for one night only in Toronto on Thursday November 5th! Click here to learn more.