Benjamin Allain-Vaillant

"My culture is about hands": Benjamin Allain-Vaillant (il/lui) is an outreach worker with the Réseau de la Santé Sexuelle des Sourds du Québec (RSSSQ). He's also a performer - he's made for the stage! Benjamin has been Deaf since birth and grew up in a Deaf family environment, so deafness was the norm during his childhood. Today, he is involved in the community sector to help improve public attitudes towards deafness and to improve accessibility measures for Deaf people.

The Réseau de la Santé Sexuelle des Sourds du Québec's mission includes offering services and activities to Deaf and hard-of-hearing people: living with HIV/AIDS or STBBIs, 2SLGBTQIA+, who are addicted, homeless or seeking support for their mental health. The core value of RSSSQ is respect for the Deaf person's culture, language and development. Benjamin began this program with the aim of learning more about teaching sexual diversity, equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility for people with disabilities. He also participates in the training of Langue des signes du Québec (LSQ) interpreters, raising their awareness about Deaf culture.