Cardioncè Ross-Derèon: Trans Asylum Support and Mutual Aid | Canadian Refugee Systems
·1 hr 19 min
This episode of The Trans Narrative Podcast features host Caroline and co-host Lucy Balzano in conversation with Cardioncè Ross-Derèon, a Toronto-based trans artist and community advocate. They explore Cardioncè's personal journey and her work supporting marginalized communities through mutual aid. The discussion centers on storytelling as empowerment and the intersection of personal authenticity with collective care.
Cardioncè recounts a childhood memory from grade four, when she was eight years old, involving a girl named Elena who had a peanut allergy. She describes early experiences in the foster care system, entering first around ages four to six and again from age 14 to 18 after a school incident. Her mother passed away when Cardioncè was 17, and she discusses her father's complex support, which included buying her gifts for her "invisible friend" Verna. Cardioncè details an abusive age-gap relationship in her twenties that led her to a women's shelter during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the shelter, she witnessed extreme situations, including a pregnant woman with severe mental health struggles.
She explains that Canadian law requires officials to use an individual's chosen name and pronouns, even before legal changes. Cardioncè recently earned her high school diploma at age 31 through an adult education program in Toronto. She describes a transformative, almost mystical connection with a straight-identified man named Ethan that made her feel a powerful "divine feminine" energy. Cardioncè is a self-described marijuana dependent, stating she experiences physical withdrawal symptoms without it. Her advocacy work includes involvement with Choosing Healthier Action Toronto, a harm reduction non-profit.
The tone is deeply conversational, intimate, and unfiltered, with moments of humor and raw emotional disclosure. It is styled as a personal narrative interview focused on lived experience rather than formal debate.
This episode would resonate deeply with listeners interested in trans lived experiences, trauma recovery, mutual aid models, and Canada's social support systems. Those seeking a highly structured, academic analysis of refugee policy might find the intensely personal narrative style less engaging.
