Imagine a walk-a-thon in stilettos. It sounds painful, but that's the point of the Foundation of Hope's annual Strut Vancouver fundraising stroll. According to the foundation's vice president, Chad Wilkinson, the goal is to "walk a mile in somebody else's shoes"—namely LGBT people in other countries facing vicious persecuted for their sexual orientation and gender expression. "It's incumbent on us who have this privilege of being here and living safely—and more or less freely

Hundreds of LGBT refugees come to Canada every year, escaping persecution and violence at home. They face “incredible odds,” says Kimahli Powell, executive director of Rainbow Railroad, one of the groups involved in bringing Chechen refugees to Canada last year. And when they arrive, they often have no resources and nowhere to go. But they can count on the support of Canada’s LGBT communities: “Our community, as we have shown many times again, is ready to rally together to su