Tealey Normandin is a proud and loving mother to her daughter, Becky, someone who has been a part of Project 10 for a very long time. When her daughter excitedly brought up Project 10 at the age of 15, Tealey was curious: “What is it? Who are they? What do you do there?”.

Becky quickly found new friends at Project 10, which brought Tealey great joy: “I was like oh my god, she’s got friends! She’s got a community. She’s got people she can feel comfortable with and identify with and it’s a safe space for her to go to”. Tealey and her daughter discovered Project 10 for everything it is: “it’s family. It’s your peers, family, friends. Just people that she can be comfortable with”. As someone who has “struggled her whole life with identity”, seeing her daughter find friends and a community she could rely on, feel comfortable with and identify with made Tealey so grateful for Project 10.

Project 10 equipped her daughter with the confidence she needed to take charge of the way she presented herself to the world. Tealey remembers the first time she saw Becky with her Mohawk; “it was a big step!” To fearlessly present herself the way she wanted to be presented, and “to look in the mirror and take pride in who you are – Project 10 gave her that!”

Witnessing her daughter’s journey led Tealey to reflect on what was stopping her from fully accepting her daughter: “I needed to accept inside myself that it was my expectations, my dreams, my vision of what society told me was supposed to be that perfect little family". If you are a parent going through a similar journey, Tealey wants you to know that “it’s not about getting to know your child” in the traditional sense, but about “accepting your child.” To begin this journey of self-reflection and healing, Tealey suggests that you “get to know who you are, get to accept your expectations of yourself”. In going through this journey with Becky, Tealey realised: “oh for heaven’s sakes, it’s not about me, it’s about accepting her!".

Tealey’s love for her daughter is beyond palpable: “I don’t give two hoots what people out there say. It’s not their life, it’s my life. And I’m the #1 defender of my girl. [She] can travel across Canada and find people who love her, she can find a community that is going to accept her, and she gives herself. My daughter gives with her heart. That’s what makes me happy”.  In the end, what Tealey wants most for her children is happiness: “What I like about P10 is that my daughter loves it… When she is going to Project 10, I know that she’s with another family, with people that she loves. Mom’s happy when Becky’s happy”.