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MindOut awarded grant from Lloyds Bank Foundation

MindOut, the LGBTQ mental health project has been awarded a three-year grant for £55,944 from the Lloyds Bank Foundation under their Invest programme.

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The grant will cover costs for an LGBTQ mental health advocate to support people who are insecurely housed.

Helen Jones
Helen Jones

Helen Jones, MindOut CEO, said: “Many of our clients are hard hit by the current housing crisis.  Some are LGBTQ people moving to Brighton to seek better, safer lives, some are Brighton residents who are in desperate housing need.  We are delighted that Lloyds Bank Foundation has awarded us a grant to work directly to provide advice and information, representation, casework and support to help people seek safe solutions and secure affordable tenancies.  Safe housing is essential for good mental health”.

Emma Tregear, Grant Manager for the South East & London, said: “We are extremely pleased to be able to fund the work of MindOut as they advocate for people in the LGBTQ community who need support in making the transition to more secure housing and a more positive position in life.” 

All MindOut services are provided by and for LGBTQ people with lived experience of mental health issues.  All services are confidential, impartial, non-judgemental, free, person-centred and empowering.

For more information and support about any LGBTQ mental health related issue, click here: 

Or email: info@mindout.org.uk

Or telephone: 01273 234839

 

 

 

Support the YMCA for World Homeless Day on October 10

YMCA DownsLink Group (YMCA DLG) asks local people to get involved and support the work of the charity with World Homeless Day on Saturday, October 10.

WEB.600The purpose of World Homeless Day is to highlight the needs of homeless people locally and provide an opportunity for communities to get involved and respond to those needs in practical ways.

YMCA DLG provides over 420 bed spaces every night to young people who might otherwise be homeless. An important part of the charity’s work is equipping their young residents with life skills so that they can move on towards independent living.

Below are some practical ways for local people to get involved and support the work of the charity ahead of World Homeless Day:

♦   Become a mentor and support a young person in their journey towards employment or education. YMCA DLG’s Positive Placements project is always looking for volunteers who could act as role models and inspire young people living in supported housing to make positive changes in their lives. For more info, click here:

♦   Donate waterproofs and warm clothing. With colder weather conditions fast approaching YMCA DLG’s YAC Housing Advice Service in Brighton is collecting donations of good quality winter clothes, gloves, socks and thermos flasks that could be used to support young people in the city during periods of rough sleeping. Telephone: 01273 828828 to arrange a drop-off.

♦   Make a monetary donation or organise a fundraising event. You can make a one-off donation, set up monthly donations or organise your own fundraising event for YMCA DLG and ask you friends and family to support the cause. To donate, click here:

♦  Take part in YMCA DLG Sleep Easy next March. Sleep Easy is a fundraising event where a group of people spend one night sleeping out under the stars to raise money for their local YMCA. To find out more about Sleep Easy email: communications@ymcadlg.org

World Homeless Day was first marked on October 10, 2010 and since then has been observed in dozens of countries on every continent, except Antarctica.

 

For more information about YMCA DownsLink Group, click here:

For more information about World homelessness Day, click here:

Harrow is first council to offer home testing HIV kits

Harrow and Barnet, first councils in England to offer home testing HIV kits in partnership with THT.

Harrow Council

The news coincides with Do it London awareness raising campaign, which aims to encourage regular testing for HIV and promote safe sex.

The kits are for at high risk groups, which include gay men, bisexual and heterosexual men and women from Black African origins to help identify the condition early.

The kits can be ordered online from the Terrence Higgins Trust website and arrive a few days later to a chosen address in the borough.  All that is required is a small sample of blood, from a finger prick.  The kit is then sent off in on a pre-paid envelope for testing.

James Carey
James Carey

Cary James, Head of Health Improvement Programmes at Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “Postal HIV tests are a great way to make it even easier to test for HIV. “National HIV Testing Week’ (starts November 21) is mere weeks away so it is great to see Harrow taking leadership in providing such an innovative service to support the sexual health of its residents.”

Councillor for public health, Varsha Parmar, added: “In Harrow we only have a small number of people who are diagnosed with HIV, but it is still important for risk groups to be checked regularly.  I am delighted that Harrow is the first Council in England to provide these kits.  The tests are a discreet way for people who are sexually active to find out if they are HIV positive and prevent transmitting the infection further.

“Thankfully HIV treatments have advanced dramatically in recent years and if diagnosed early there is a range of treatments available.  However, if undiagnosed there can be life changing consequences.”

If left untreated, HIV can be fatal. It damages the immune system, preventing our bodies from fighting off infections that we could normally handle.

More than 500 people died from HIV-related illness in the UK in 2013 which is why testing for HIV is crucial, and why advances such as these testing kits, and campaigns such as National HIV Testing Week are so important.

Residents who are outside of the at risk groups can still take advantage of free testing in the borough.

For information on what services Harrow Council offer, click here:

Rainbow Catholics Network launched in Rome

The Global Network of Rainbow Catholics (GNRC) was launched in Rome on Sunday, (October 4), at the end of a Foundational Assembly, held from October 1-4, 2015.

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Ways of Love – Snapshots of Catholic Pastoral Encounter with LGBTI People and their Families was attended by over 120 delegates who heard a powerful interview with former Irish President Dr. Mary McAleese by Robert Mickens, and a keynote closing address by Bishop Raul Vera OP from Saltillo, Mexico.

Other speakers from Chile, England, Italy, Kenya, Thailand and the United States spoke of positive models of pastoral care for LGBTI people.

A Steering Group, representing Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, and Oceania, including a range of ethnicities, gender balance and younger people was elected by delegates from 31 different countries.

Ruby Almeida and Eros Xiao from the LGBT Catholic community were among those elected. Further positions will be filled in another election round of member-organisations.

The GNRC Assembly sent the following Open Letter to Bishops attending the Synod on the Family at the Vatican.

Dear Sisters and Brothers at the Synod on the Family,

Greetings from the new-born Global Network of Rainbow Catholics!

We are a group of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Catholics, and along with our loving families and friends, we have spent the last few days not far from you, in Rome, consolidating two years of work, which have advanced alongside your double Synod preparations.

We come from over thirty countries, both as individuals and as representatives of groups, who have been involved with the flourishing of people like ourselves in the lives of our local churches, (as well as with many other tasks). The last years have not been an easy ride! Many in our Church thought that they were serving God by hating us, and some still do, especially among the hierarchy; but we can tell you with joy, that we have kept alive our Confession of the Catholic faith! We have kept the faith under persecution, and are ready to join with you in the joyful announcement of the Gospel to which Pope Francis has called us.

Because God is wonderful, we have found that through this life as dregs among the people of God, the Holy Spirit has given us a surprising (at least to us) capacity to stand up and be counted, not to be frightened of those who fear us, not to be resentful of the incapacity for approval, and the bureaucratic meanness of spirit and dishonesty to which we have regularly been subjected. We have learned that it is not what the Church can do for us, but what we can do for the Church that matters.

We need to be better prepared to join you in your task of spreading the Gospel and building up the families in which (as we have so often experienced ourselves) God delights. We need to support each other, and others more vulnerable than ourselves, at a worldwide level, especially in countries which criminalise us, and even think they are honouring God by killing us. We need to be able to share information, counter falsehood, encourage each other in our needs, and strengthen our families, especially where civil law does not yet respect them. So we have decided to set up a Global Network, to bring together groups of LGBTI Catholics, our families and friends, as well as other Christians and people of good will. This will enable us to be much better prepared to share experiences, life stories, examples of best-practice: little miracles of love.

We want to set up our network in such a way that we can even be useful to you, though we know from long experience how frightened many of you are of communicating with us discreetly, even less talking to us on the record!

Having learned, by living with Jesus, not to be dismayed by the falsehoods and calumnies concerning us to which some of you still seem wedded, and even pass off as “teaching of the Church”, you will find us resilient, because we know that we are loved. In the near-absence of visible shepherds, we have come to trust and love a Shepherd who was not ashamed to give himself to death for us, One whose voice we hear, with whom we are not in rivalry, and in whose light all others who call themselves shepherds can be tested for their fruits. Because of this, you may even be surprised to find us meek!

So we write to you to wish you encouragement for these days of your Synodal gathering, as well as for the months and years to come as we all begin to live the hints of the new that are coming to birth, discovering new ways of celebrating the family, rather than condemning wine that threatens to burst old wineskins. We are thrilled that you heard with us Pope Francis’ wonderful homily in Philadelphia last week, where he drew out the consequences of both Jesus’ and Moses’ rebuke to those who would hold back the Spirit.

We have prayed for you at every Mass at our meeting, and we ask you to pray for us, confident that we will soon be able to meet transparently, with joy. For we are amazed to have discovered that over the last few years, despite everything, and because nothing is impossible to God, we have become insiders with you in the life of the Gospel, and co-sharers in all your joyful tasks.

With warmest greetings from your rainbow sisters and brothers in Christ.

Rome, Feast of St Francis of Assisi, 2015

For more information, click here:

 

Wish you were here in bonny Scotland

Scotland says Fàilte to gay tourists!

St Andrews Castle
St Andrews Castle

A new report by the Equality Network, Scotland’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) equality and human rights charity highlights the opportunities of marketing Scotland to the world as an LGBT friendly travel destination.

The research behind the report was conducted in partnership with Visit Scotland, the national tourism organisation.

‘Wish you were here – The Scottish LGBT Travel Report’ is the first report of its kind in Scotland to look at the views and needs of LGBT travellers to Scotland, the report author hopes the research will help the tourism industry better meet the needs of LGBT tourists.

The report shows that despite 77% saying that they consider Scotland an LGBT Friendly destination, only 3% said Scotland comes to mind first when thinking about LGBT destinations around the world, demonstrating the need to do more to promote Scotland as an LGBT travel destination.

The report includes a number of significant findings:

♦        74% of UK travellers who would consider a same-sex marriage abroad would consider getting married in Scotland

♦        30% of travellers from out with Scotland said they did not know whether Scotland is LGBT friendly

♦        81% said the local legal situation for LGBT people was an important factor in their choice of destination

♦       73% said an LGBT friendly reputation was an important factor in their choice of destination

♦        Over half (53%) sought out LGBT specific information about their travel destination

Scott Cuthbertson
Scott Cuthbertson

Scott Cuthbertson, from the Equality Network, said: “Scotland has all the ingredients of a world-class LGBT friendly travel destination, a favourable legal landscape, great places to visit and the friendliest people in the world, its time to make more of that and send out a warm welcome to LGBT travellers.

The tourism industry is worth millions to the Scottish economy every year, other destinations are already actively targeting the LGBT market, there is every reason for Scotland to do the same, creating jobs and supporting equality at the same time. It’s a win win scenario for Scotland.”

Firth of Forth rail and road bridges
Firth of Forth rail and road bridges

As a result of the research the Equality Network has made a number of recommendations, including that Scotland should do more to explicitly market itself to LGBT travellers and that more should be done to take advantage of new same-sex marriage laws promoting Scotland as a destination for marriages.

The charity has also announced that it has started work to develop an LGBT travel guide which will be launched next year and distributed in core markets. The aim of the guide to encourage more LGBT tourists to visit Scotland.

Visit Scotland has used the research to launch a special LGBT portal on visitscotland.com to better support the needs of LGBT travellers.

To view the portal, click here:

Adam Groffman, who runs travelsofadam.com, a berlin based gay travel blogger, said: “Scotland is a diverse and friendly country, with a lot to offer for every type of tourist. When visiting Scotland over the past few years, I’ve found the country and the people very welcoming and comfortable. I just love the culture which keeps me coming back – there’s always something more to see and do. As a gay traveller, the country has such a diverse offering: nightlife, the amazing Edinburgh festivals, beautiful countryside, museums and castles. Scotland has so much to offer LGBT tourists”

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New litter tax proposal!

On the spot fines for littering, fly-tipping, graffiti and illegal dumping of business waste in communal bins could be introduced in Brighton & Hove.

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Members of the council’s Environment, Transport and Sustainability (ETS) committee are being asked to agree proposals for a new waste enforcement scheme.

If agreed, the council will begin an information and education campaign with the first fines being issued from next February.

The council has drawn up the proposals in a bid to tackle anti-social and illegal behaviour, improve the environment and minimise waste clean-up and disposal costs.

Each year the council receives complaints about fly-tipping, litter and other anti-social behaviour and the issues are often raised at residents groups and community meetings.

Last year council officers issued 439 written warnings, 10 verbal warnings and gave site advice to 27 businesses in relation to waste issues. Eighty fixed penalty notices were issued.

However, the council has limited capacity to increase education and enforcement activity and is unable to carry out daily patrols to issue advice and where necessary take enforcement action.

The new scheme would see the council employ an outside contractor to carry out enforcement alongside an education programme. The service would be self-funding with no cost to the council, which would receive a proportion of funds from fixed penalty notices.

In setting up the scheme, the council would follow government guidelines and best practice from other local authorities to ensure that any fines are issued sensibly and given only as a last resort.

For example, if the littering was accidental or the offender is a child, a warning will be given. Offenders will also be given an opportunity to pick up litter to avoid being fined.

The enforcement scheme would initially cover fly-tipping, littering, flyposting, graffiti and disposing of business waste in communal bins illegally.  If successful, it could be extended to address other issues such as dog fouling and littering.

If agreed, a 12 month trial could be up and running early next year.

Councillor Gill Mitchell chair of the environment, transport and sustainability committee said:  “We all want to be proud of our city but sometimes its appearance is a cause for concern for residents, visitors and those who work here and we are often asked to take a tougher stance around anti-social behaviour such as dropping litter, fly-posting and graffiti.

“The proposed scheme, along with the publicity and education programme, is designed to act as a deterrent and send out a strong message that deliberate anti-social behaviour which blights our city will not be tolerated.” 

The Environment, Transport and Sustainability (ETS) committee meeting is at The Ronuk Hall, Portslade Town Hall on Tuesday, October 13 at 4pm.

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