Calls for more support for Scarborough's LGBT+ community
Pride Month starts today
There are calls for there to be more help for the LGBT+ community in Scarborough, especially youngsters.
Today (Thursday 1st June) marks Pride Month which is dedicated to celebration and commemoration.
However, according to new research from young people’s LGBT charity, Just Like Us, LGBT+ people are half as likely to be happy in adulthood if they are not supported in youth.
The Positive Futures report identifies a link between lack of LGBT+ inclusive support in childhood and poorer outcomes for mental health, wellbeing and career prospects in early adulthood.
The full report can be found on the Just Like Us website.
Nathan Wackett is a transgender freelance artist and works for Scarborough Zine Library. He said: "There's a lot of people who spend the majority of their year getting by, living in the shadows and perhaps they don't have as much of a community surrounding them. Pride to me a chance for those people to make themselves visible, if they choose to, and to connect with other people in their community.
"As a trans person myself, I do a lot of work with the trans community and especially for work places. It's very likely that a lot of young, queer people if they're not given that support they're actually at a significantly higher rate of suicide or self-harming behaviours.
"I remember coming out about 10 years ago now being the old trans kid in school and that was quite a minefield for both myself and my family to go through. Luckily though, it's a bit better now with the young people that we meet through the Queer Infoshop. We find that they've found their communities a little bit earlier than we did.
"If you're a young, queer person in Scarborough then you're not alone. You may be the only person in your class or school... you're not. By being yourself and being true to yourself, that's the bravest thing that you can do and whether or not you feel loved and supported, they will also be someone going through the same thing."
Joel Hague is an artist, researcher and curator at Crescent Arts in Scarborough. He said: "Scarborough's a weird one because it can be both quite sparce and challenging but also quite polarised and it can be quite fruitful and rich, but there are things in place in Scarborough now that we didn't have when we were younger and a lot of what we do is to try and offer those experiences that we didn't have when we were this age."
They have both created the 'Queer Infoshop' at Woodend Gallery.
Amy Ashenden, interim CEO of Just Like Us, the LGBT+ young people’s charity, said: “LGBT+ young people deserve to feel safe and supported both at home and at school, and it’s heartbreaking to see the prolonged, devastating impact in early adulthood when this is not the case.
“From their mental health, hopes for the future and career prospects to their relationships with themselves and others, our Positive Futures report clearly shows that supporting LGBT+ children is absolutely vital for their chances of happiness and success as adults.
“We invite everyone who works with or cares for a LGBT+ young person to read the report and be vocal about their support. Young people desperately need to hear that the adults in their lives unequivocally believe that being lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans does not make you lesser than but is in fact something to be celebrated – otherwise we will see another generation facing the heartwrenching outcomes detailed in the report.
“I’d like to particularly call upon teachers to join us in taking part in School Diversity Week this 26-30 June, and show young people that being LGBT+ is nothing to be ashamed of – a message that young people still desperately need to hear in their everyday lives.”
School Diversity Week
June 26th to 30th is School Diversity Week, where schools are encouraged to take part in a programme which aims to provide their students with knowledge to help LGBT+ equality.
School Diversity Week is Just Like Us' annual celebration of LGBT+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans) equality in education, celebrated by thousands of primary schools, secondary schools and colleges across the UK.
Taking part is free and Just Like Us provides schools with a toolkit of resources across the curriculum, and suitable for all key stages.