It’s hard to believe it’s 2025 already. The memory of walking into CBRC’s small, single-room office near the False Creek Fisherman’s Wharf in Vancouver as a newly out undergrad back in 2004 doesn’t even feel that long ago. I blinked, and suddenly we’re a quarter into this century.
Maybe you feel the same. New Years is a time to reminisce and reflect. In doing so, you realize how quickly the clock turns (and much to my dismay, how much faster it turns as we age). It can be daunting and disorienting in today’s rapid-fire online, political, and news culture to process all the ways in which the world is changing—for better and for worse—and what we’re going to do about it.
So this year at CBRC, we’re making some New Year resolutions with the goal of grounding ourselves in our history and our strengths, and doubling down on what we do best: queer health research and promotion, by and for the 2S/LGBTQIA+ community.
Resolution one: celebrate our shared history and success. Last year marked a major milestone anniversary for CBRC—25 years of operations, and 20 years of our annual Summit. Despite funding being so limited in our early years, we pressed forward with our vision to develop health research and interventions, by and for people in our communities. Today, our flagship initiatives including Sex Now, Summit, and Totally Outright are thriving, continuing to drive innovation and development in 2S/LGBTQIA+ health. To honour this history, we’re releasing CBRC at 25, a documentary project highlighting CBRC’s formative days and consequential shifts, including going national in 2017 and adopting a 2S/LGBTQIA+ mandate in 2021.
Resolution two: take stock and strategize. Our evolution from a small, HIV-focused gay men’s health organization in BC, to a national, bilingual, 2S/LGBTQIA+ health organization has been an incredible journey, but not without its challenges. This spring, we’re releasing CBRC’s 3-year strategic plan—informed by former and current staff and Board members, as well as funders and community members—to solidify our work following this exciting yet demanding growth. In a climate of rising misinformation and prejudice towards queer, trans, and Two-Spirit people, it’s critical that we use our resources wisely and where they’ll have the most impact.
Resolution three: do what we’ve always done, even better. At CBRC, we know our greatest strength is putting queer, trans, and Two-Spirit people in the centre of health research and programs for our communities. We promote 2S/LGBTQIA+ health not only by conducting research and developing programs, but also by training and empowering people in our communities to get into the driver’s seat of this work. This year we’re launching a slate of new projects, grounded in CBRC’s foundational work but also deepening our knowledge and response on more issues that impact our health and wellbeing. This includes initiatives on gender-based violence, sexual, reproductive care, and gender affirming care, as well as tobacco cessation and harm reduction. We’re also launching some new population-specific initiatives focused on 2S/LGBTQIA+ seniors in Vancouver and a national Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ Indigenous health equity and knowledge mobilization, so stay tuned for some exciting new programming news!
Resolution four: continue to keep you, our community, at the core. Our work can only go so far without your engagement and support. As part of both our strategic plan and our 25th anniversary, we’re working on ways to make our work more accessible, including a major overhaul of our website, making it easier than ever for you to access and engage with our work. Also, as we continue to lean into our identity and mandate as a national, bilingual organization, I’m particularly thrilled about one important programming development: hosting our 2025 Summit in Montreal—the first time it’s ever been hosted outside of Vancouver.
Unlike that new set of weights or Duolingo subscription, these are resolutions we are committed to follow-through on. Because by being intentional and putting our resources behind what works, we know we can be a better CBRC—in 2025 and the years ahead.
Michael Kwag
Executive Director