LGBTQ is in our hands

Twelve organisations supporting LGBTQ people in the UK have received £2.6 million in government funding, including the Hackney-based Mind in the City, Hackney and Waltham Forest. The announcement marks the start of LGBT History Month under the government’s LGBT Action Plan.

The East London organisation received a share of £1 million, along with four other organisations, to help LGBTQ people in health and social care.

Mind representative Aryeh Wolfson-West said welcomed news of the funding which would go towards improving communications. He said: “Within the next twelve months we will develop some kind of template (about mental health issues) to stop self-shame that we will distribute. We will discover whether it’s successful and then distribute the template throughout the country.”

Mind in the City, Hackney and Waltham Forest offers a multi-disciplinary psychological therapy service. Wolfson-West continued: “I think the lack of therapy is not just an issue with the LGBT community, but with all communities. The real need in terms of mental health is the lack of ability for people to meet their needs.

Latest research from  the British Social Attitudes Survey 2017  shows that the social attitude of people towards same-sex relationships has become more positive. More than 68 per cent of people said they thought ‘same-sex relations were not wrong at all’.

Minister for Equalities Baroness Susan Williams said: “Everyone should be able to love who they wish to and live their life free from fear and discrimination. I am encouraged to see how people’s attitudes are changing to be more accepting and more tolerant.

“However, we still have work to do to make sure our society is truly fair. That’s why we are working with charities, schools, GPs, and across government to make sure our Action Plan can bring about real, lasting change for LGBT people in the UK.”

The LGBT Action Plan, published in July last year, set more than 75 goals to tackle discrimination and improve the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the UK. These included commitments to end the practice of conversion therapy which traditionally attempts to stop people being gay, continuing to tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools, and establishing an LGBT Advisory Panel to guide the government over decisions affecting LGBT people.