Welcome to Diversity News Spring 2017. In this issue you’ll hear how we’re working with many services and organisations to bring communities together by supporting their Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Our news-in- brief shows our Alphabets LGBTQ youth group in South Gloucestershire going from strength to strength. And we’re now getting ready to start an LGBT+ Community Forum in the county.
Our last newsletter mentioned an LGBT+ Mental Health workshop. As promised, you’ll read an update about what we said in this newsletter, which addresses how we improve access to mental health services for LGBT+ people. This workshop will also feed into the Resilience Strategy for LGBT+ people in the area.
Our newsletter editor, Dave Sully, will give you tips on engaging the media, so you can increase your profile and improve your reach.
This year we supported launching a new social and support group for LGBT+ adults with learning disabilities. We have been working with the Brandon Trust, SARSAS and Bristol Public Health. And the Bristol Public Health Learning Disabilities team identified a need for the group. We included elements of Karen Pollock’s Blog in our article, as Karen brilliantly explores learning dif culties and sexual orientation. Joyce Howarth, our Easy Read expert and trainer, created the content for promoting the group and she shares her Easy Read tips.
We introduce, Johanna, our new Hate Crime of cer at LGBT Bristol and the charity’s call for more volunteers, members and Trustees.
Our Diversity Trust Director, Russell Thomas, opened his very own community café, Ground and BURST. Please read about his FREE lunch time Equality and Diversity public discussions led by expert facilitators.
Following our newsletter theme in Bringing Communities Together, Jack Bailey at Curo, tells us about their Community Connectors project. The project is setting up a social prescription service, which empowers people to become more engaged and active in their communities. However,
I was sad to hear about the Aled Richards Centre in Old Market, Bristol, closing after twenty- ve-years in serving the communities who needed them. But, Jessica Oak, from Terrence Higgins Trust Bristol, reassured us about how its HIV support services will continue and go forward. I felt the urge to write a blog about the closure, which you can read on my website: Click here (published 12 March 2017).
I’m so excited to announce that we’re working with the Care Forum again on a new research project. The project explores the health needs of Trans people and their access to local NHS services. But this time we’ve also teamed up with Local Healthwatch across South Gloucestershire, B&NES, Bristol, North Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire. We’ll keep you updated as this research project progresses. To keep up to date on this and all our other projects click to subscribe to our newsletter on our Home Page.
Enjoy the rest of the Spring!
Here is the link to the newsletter click here