The 519 mourns the passing of Kyle Scanlon - Toronto

[MadelineB]

The 519 mourns the passing of Kyle Scanlon
Posted by The519.org
July 8, 2012

http://www.the519.org/newsfeed/the519mournsthepassingofkylescanlon

It is with great sadness that we share news of the passing of Kyle Scanlon, The 519's Education, Training and Research Coordinator.  Kyle committed suicide this week in his Toronto home.

Kyle has worked at The 519 for a decade and during that time helped to redefine the face of trans community services in Toronto and across Canada.  Projects like Trans Access, Trans Pulse and Project Open Door will continue to advance the rights, health and vibrancy of our trans communities and will serve as a legacy of Kyle's commitment and passion.


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Deepest condolences to Kyle's loved ones and to the Toronto community. -Madeline

[Jamiep]

MadelineB,

Thanks for this. I am sure I have seen Kyle giving a presentation at a Professor friend of mine seminar at the University of Toronto. I spoke briefly to him after the talk. He was a real survivor. A trans friend of mine who has survived a few suicide attempts trained under Kyle for giving educational presentations too. My friend posted about Kyle on fb & I posted a link from yours here. Kyle took his life, a real tragedy. 

Jamie

[MadelineB]

There are some beautiful pictures and information on Mr. Scanlon's life and accomplishments here on Lynn Conway's site:
http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TSsuccesses/FtM/Kyle/Kyle.html
Kyle's Story
Copyright 2007-9, by Kyle Scanlon

"It's so easy as a transitioning person to think that everything in life is related to transition, to surgeries, to hormones, and to passing. We divide our lives into 'before and after'. We spend all our time telling friends and relatives about why we want to transition, what it was like to transition, and what the differences are between living as men versus women. We're viewed as social experiments, the creations of science and medicine. We're the topics of gossip, and the guests of tacky talk shows. We're objects. People easily forget we're human.

"And we mustn't let them. We must show them, at every opportunity, that we have talents, and dreams, and lives."
- Kyle

[Jamiep]

MadelineB,

Appreciate the link & story. Kyle's spirit will live on in all his programs. Strength & courage led to outstanding accomplishments in the community and city. Lovely touch that Kyle's caring went beyond humans. I like the quote included in your post.

Especially,

"People easily forget we're human."

"And we mustn't let them. We must show them, at every opportunity, that we have talents, and dreams, and lives."
- Kyle

So true.

Jamiep