André Ho

André Ho’s quest for identity as a gay and Asian person motivated him to do his Master’s degree in Social Work on the identity construction of LGBTQ+ people of immigrant background in Quebec. He has done over 20 years of social intervention work in community settings dealing with homelessness, mental health, justice issues, drug addiction, racism and LGBTQ+ realities, and has extensive experience in governance through his involvement in boards of directors and in the development of community initiatives.

Currently, André is the coordinator of community services and projects at the Montreal LGBTQ+ Community Centre. To counter the resurgence of anti-Asian racism owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, he helped establish the Coalition Asiatique pour une Relève Émancipatrice (CARE), through which Asian Montrealers carry out community projects to counter racism and promote the well-being of their communities. He also participated in the documentary film on racism, Briser le code. For André, marginalised communities are not the source of the problem, rather they carry problems imposed on them. As a result, his motto has been, “When we demand justice, we aren’t disturbing others, it’s the others who feel disturbed,” which is an invitation for the communities he works with to speak up.