Susan Gapka, a trans rights activist and member of RNAO’s Patient and Public Engagement (PPE) council, received one of seven keys to the city from Toronto Mayor John Tory on May 17. She is the first transgender person to receive this honour. Gapka came to Toronto as a teenager and spent 10 years living on the street. She volunteered for Parkdale Community Health Centre’s street outreach program 30 years ago while homeless, and became a member of its board of directors 10 years later, after finding housing. In this role, she helped create the first community based methadone clinic in Ontario. She founded the Trans Lobby Group, which lobbied for public funding for transition-related surgeries, as well as amending the Ontario Human Rights Code to include ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender expression.’ 

“This, hopefully, is a metaphor that we can use this key to provide opportunities to those who lack access to a decent home, good health care, transportation, or food,” Gapka says. “I’m hopeful that this may help achieve some of that.” 

RNAO was on-hand May 17 to celebrate Gapka’s recognition from the city. As a member of the association’s PPE council, RNAO looks to Gapka and others for insight on patient, family caregiver, and public engagement. This insight informs the organization’s overall goals, including its healthy public policy work. The council is comprised of members of the public as well as health-care providers. Its goal is to focus on the patient lens of health care to help shape RNAO’s values.