Sudbury diversity, sexuality teacher honoured for work

A ReseauAccess AIDS Network worker says he is humbled and surprised to have won at theFireSudburyPride awards galaMonday night.

GastonCotnoir, themanager of education and community resources at the access network, said it was a wonderful feeling to win the community excellence award in the presence of some of the youth he's helped over the years.

Cotnoir'sjob is to go into schools and workplaces to teach about diversity and sexuality and how to make places inclusive.

He said visiting schools is an amazing experience. Once hetells his own coming-out story, Cotnoir said some students thencome up to him and share their stories, often for the very first time.

"They are able to say, I'm gay, I'mlesbian, I'mbi, I'mtrans, he continued.

For them, it is likelifting 30, 60, 1000 poundsoff their shoulders andyou'vejust helped them to go on for the next few days. Then we connect inour office and we talk about how to improve, how to tell your parents or to getsupport, [and]what happens if it doesn't go well or what happens if it goes great.

A lot has changed over 30 years ...

When he was in high school about 30 years ago, Cotnoir saidthings were a lot different for him. He attended a small high school in Spanish, Ont., that had just 75 students.

"Ididn't tell anyone, kept it to myself. I told people that I had agirlfriend; I gave her afake name. .. for three or fouryears. Ididn't go to myprom with that girlfriend [because] she didn't exist."

Cotnoirsaid he didn't come out until university, after he spoke to his twin brother and he helped me through everything.

It wasn't until he met his husband atuniversity that he decided to tell his parents, Cotnoir said.

Cotnoir said he's happy that,through his work at theReseauAccess Network, he can help other young people.

"Things are a lot different. Being able to go into a town and celebrate your sexuality diversity and your gender and have fun and be yourself is unbelievable, he continued.

ThatSudburyhas its own pride is unbelievable.

ReseauAccess Network also received the Hall of Fame Award at last night's pride-week gala for its work with individuals who are HIVpositive.