A warm welcome to the July edition of our Newsletter!
Read on for news from the Sector, our Members and the Team.
Sector News
Terry Reed OBE
We are mourning the death of GIRES co-founder and veteran trans advocate Terry Reed OBE, who lost her long battle with cancer on 20th June 2021.
Our thoughts are with Bernard Reed and family. Terry will be greatly missed by the Consortium team.
Terry’s funeral will be online at 1.15pm on 23 July. Please email GIRES for details.
In lieu of flowers, the family would prefer donations to be made in Terry’s honour to GIRES, or to the Princess Alice Hospice or to the Royal Marsden Hospital, both of which cared supremely well for Terry.
A memorial service will be arranged later in the year, to celebrate Terry’s life.
Support trans people's freedom, dignity and safety
We are crowdfunding for vital funds to directly support trans organisations and the trans people they work with.
Consortium is asking for your support in urgently raising money to support the Trans Organisations Network, a group of over 60 trans-led organisations, hosted by Consortium, who work together to provide operational and strategic support to some of the most marginalised communities in society.
As Communications Officer you will manage the charity’s brand, PR and communications, to raise the profile of Consortium and communicate the need and impact of our work to key audiences.
This is a broad role, responsible for managing and delivering the PR, brand management, content development & communications. The role will involve working with colleagues across the Consortium team and external stakeholders to deliver accurate and engaging content which spans our work.
The LGBTIQA+ Plan for London has been developed through a series of working groups and wider engagement with London-based Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex, Queer and Asexual (LGBTIQA+) organisations between January and May 2021.
The plan echoes the challenges, ideas and visions of 95 organisations across London, who have all been integral to designing and developing the content of this document. In 2020, the Mayor of London published the London Recovery Programme as a long-term plan to address the impact of Covid-19 and reinvigorate among other London’s communities, economies, and environments.
We are pleased to announce that following our in-depth analysis of all the data collected through our Annual Survey, our Insight Report is now available!
Please visit our Insight page, where you can access the report along with reports from previous years.
London Festival of Ideas: Your vision for strong communities
It’s time we create a better London, one that’s more equal, more connected and where everyone can take part. The festival is an opportunity to identify, showcase and celebrate the great work already happening, whilst also imagining and developing a shared vision for strong communities across London.
Between June 28 and July 23, the city will be buzzing with events, conversations, activities and celebrations all exploring what makes strong communities in London and we want you to be involved. We are inviting everyone to host their own activities.
Our recent Insight report highlighted that many organisations not originally set up to deliver services around mental health have had to pivot to provide wellbeing support in our communites during the pandemic. We also know that other groups are regularly looking for services they can signpost to.
With that in mind, we are asking members that offer mental health and wellbeing services to fill in a short form, so we can create a list to assist anyone looking for help.
Consortium’s newly relaunched Women’s Network is an open and inclusive network for all women and non-binary people working or volunteering in the LGBT+ sector who would like to join a supportive and welcoming environment to share insights, network, and discuss the challenges and opportunities they experience within the sector and beyond.
Our July meeting will begin with a panel sharing their experiences, followed by an open and informal discussion about topics raised by the panel and broader experiences within the group.
Ufi VocTech Challenge calls for applicants for their grants of between 15k-150k to address digital divides and develop work skills. If you work on digitally empowering people, maybe this is a grant for you!
Join the National LGBT Partnership as they facilitate a discussion on LGBTQ+ community in healthcare for the London Festival of Ideas.
LGBTQ+ healthcare workers face additional obstacles during their working lives and as a result, may require additional support or access to LGBTQ+ networks. For this panel, a number of LGBTQ+ healthcare workers in London will discuss the main challenges to being LGBTQ+ in health, the disadvantages of a lack of support and suggestions for a more inclusive working life.
In addition, we will hear from Alex Matheson from the NHS Rainbow Badge Scheme, which is currently in Phase 2, and Martin Karadzhov, the London Coordinator for Consortium.
This event is free and you can sign up now on Eventbrite. If you have any questions about this event, or would like to volunteer as a panellist, please email laura@consortium.lgbt.
Member's News
Here is a summary of news from our Members over the last month. You can keep up-to-date with all the latest news by clicking on the button below.
The UK's annual Pride season is well under way, both online and face-to-face. Here is just a selection of our member's events that are coming up this month:
Did you know? The inclusive flag shown here was designed by Valentino Vecchietti, the founder of our member organisation - Intersex Equality Rights UK
Forward Pride Pledge
This Pride season, Forward, your local LGBTQIA+ support hub in Stockport is acting. We are taking action by asking you to stand with us and ask your local MP to ensure that they put “Rights before Rainbows”.
We are taking this stance because many organisations seem to think that changing their company logo to a rainbow is a fun thing to do during Pride month, but ask yourself: Do those companies really understand the meaning behind the rainbow?
It’s out – and we’re proud! Independent research shows Open Table truly supports well-being
For thirteen years now, a growing partnership of church communities hosted by and for LGBT people has been creating safe spaces for those who find the idea of church threatening, but feel the need for spiritual places of peace and acceptance.
The first Open Table community began in June 2008 because many church congregations do not offer a kind or an honest welcome to people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer or questioning, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA).
Liverpool’s Stanley Street Quarter Rebranded “Pride Quarter”
Ten years after becoming the UK’s first formally recognised LGBT+ area, the Stanley Street Quarter will be rebranded as the Pride Quarter, with support from LCR Pride Foundation and Marketing Liverpool.
The Pride Quarter will bring together a large number of the city’s LGBT+ venues, located in and around Victoria Street, Dale Street and Tithebarn Street, continuing the area’s development to welcome more people and better encompass its diverse leisure and hospitality offerings.
LGBTI charity welcomes ‘historic day’ for gay and bisexual men donating blood
Scottish LGBTI equality charity the Equality Network have today welcomed changes in blood donation rules which will remove the deferment period for some gay and bisexual men from donating blood and replace it with an individual risk assessment regardless of sexual orientation. This important new policy will take effect on World Blood Donor Day will allow thousands of gay and bisexual men, previously excluded, to donate for the first time.
We love to hear from our Members about the great work they are doing and we can help get the word out by sharing it via our Newsletter and social media.
If you are a Member and you have a press release or announcement you'd like to share with us, then please get in touch by clicking on the button below.
