We know that LGBTQ+ people face additional barriers when accessing housing and care in later life, and Rusell Road is intended to address this. The residents at Russell Road will be aged 55 years or over, with the majority of residents being members of the LGBTQ+ community from Manchester. Living alongside allies, the aim is to provide an open and inclusive place of psychological safety for the older LGBTQ+ community.

Visiting the site earlier this year, LGBT Foundation supporter and Pride in Ageing patron, Ian McKellen said:

“It’s wonderful to see Manchester leading the way yet again. Our community deserves to be able to age in a safe and welcoming environment where we are accepted for who we are, and Russell Road will do just that. Congratulations to everyone involved in the project and I look forward to following its progress and seeing the scheme open!”

This is a significant moment in the development of Russell Road and LGBT Foundation are looking forward to continuing to work alongside Manchester City Council Great Places Housing Group and the Community Steering Group to make our vision a reality. 

To find out more or to get involved in the scheme, please email adam.preston@lgbt.foundation

LGBT Foundation’s Pride in Ageing initiative, which marked its 5th anniversary this summer,
celebrates those who are older and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) and undertakes projects with communities in GreaterManchester to address their needs. 

The creation of this guide began with a nationwide survey to gather information from practitioners, to establish what they required from the guide and needed further support on when working with LGBTQ+ people. Over 200 responses were received, which provided the information needed to start the guide.

As the guide was developing, focus groups were conducted with both practitioners within Talking Therapies services and LGBTQ+ experts by experience who have received support from a Talking Therapies service, to provide feedback on the content of this guide. Additionally, different services were contacted to provide case studies of best practices to include in the guide. Over 250 experts were involved in providing feedback at different stages of the production and 13 case studies of best practice was provided to include in the guide.

This PPG outlines existing evidence and guidance and provides practical recommendations for supporting the LGBTQ+ community. The recommendations address how services and practitioners can reduce barriers that LGBTQ+ people may face when accessing Talking Therapies, the importance of recording and monitoring data and how to ensure clinical practice is inclusive. Thirteen case studies have been incorporated into the guide to highlight positive practices that has been implemented in a variety of services across the UK.

This guide is designed to be used by Talking Therapies services to advance their practice to improve LGBTQ+ people’s experiences and outcomes of psychological therapy. A helpful ‘bite-sized’ guide has also been developed to summarise the PPG recommendations, which can be used with the full version of the LGBTQ+ PPG.

Although the target audience for the guide is NHS Talking Therapies services, the content can be used by any “Mental Health” and “Health and Social Care” practitioners, along with the commissioners that fund services to LGBTQ+ individuals.

The guide and the PPG can be found on our website, along with the webinar recording, where the PPG was introduced to NHS Talking Therapies services.

We also encourage any questions about this guide to be forwarded to therapy@lgbt.foundation 

This August and September, LGBT Foundation proudly celebrates 30 years of pioneering sexual health support through its ground-breaking Condom and Lube Distribution Scheme. For three decades, this initiative has provided millions with safer sex packs and has ignited essential conversations around sexual health, promoting safer and healthier relationships within LGBTQ+ communities. 

To honour this remarkable milestone, LGBT Foundation is launching ‘Clutch Your Pearls’—a vibrant campaign inviting everyone to join in celebrating and reflecting on three decades of innovation, community, and impact and open, joyful, and positive discussions about sex, relationships, and sexual well-being, ahead of Manchester Pride Weekend across the August Bank Holiday and well into Sexual Health Week beginning on the 9^th of September.  

Since its inception in 1994, the Condom and Lube Distribution Scheme has given away over 31 million free condoms and lube, offering vital resources to those in need. Initially launched by Healthy Gay Manchester under Dr Paul Martin OBE’s leadership, the scheme was a direct response to the rising HIV infection rates among men who have sex with men. What started with volunteers hand-making safer sex packs for Manchester’s Gay Village has grown into one of the UK’s most trusted sexual health services, reaching over 90,000 people annually across Greater Manchester and beyond. 

“Over the past 30 years, our free condom and lube packs have reached countless people, each one a small yet vital gesture of care and support for our communities,” said Dr Paul Martin OBE, Chief Executive of LGBT Foundation. “Today, our distribution scheme has expanded from its local beginnings to become a beacon of safety, queer love, joy, and passion for LGBTQ+ people across the UK. Each free pack symbolises our commitment to ensuring that our community has access to the resources needed to maintain positive sexual health”. 

“As we celebrate this significant milestone—our pearl anniversary—we recognise that attitudes towards discussing sex have changed, some may still hesitate to talk openly about queer relationships, and queer sex. We strive to be the charity that transforms these conversations and dispels the stigmas and misconceptions that have long surrounded LGBTQ+ sexual health.” 

Clutch Your Pearls will feature a series of events dedicated to sexual health and sexual well-being including a grand celebration at Manchester Pride. Highlights include: 

• More free safer sex packs delivered to all popular venues ahead of Manchester Pride. 

• Pearls of Wisdom, where the public can ask all their burning questions about sexual health or relationships to the LGBT Foundation team. Whether it’s something spicy, queer, or just too juicy to ask out loud, drop your questions their way. 

• The Pleasure Parade takes to Manchester Pride with LGBT Foundation’s Sexual Health Team and volunteers distributing free condoms, lube, and essential information alongside open and positive conversations about sexual health.  

• A Pre-Pride Brunch at Cloud 23, paying tribute to the past 30 years while setting the stage for the next chapter of innovation and support in LGBTQ+ sexual health. 

• Six Minute Quickies, a new audio series launching for Sexual Health Week offering bite-sized insights into all things LGBTQ+ sexual health. 

For more information about LGBT Foundation’s Celebration of 30 Years of Condom and Lube Distribution, visit lgbt.foundation. For details on LGBT Foundation’s Sexual Health service, visit lgbt.foundation/sexualhealth or call our national helpline on 0345 3 30 30 30. 

We were incredibly honoured to have had Claire as a part of the LGBT Foundation family. As a volunteer with our Macmillan and Pride in Ageing programmes, Claire played a pivotal role in launching the Pride in Ageing programme in 2019. Her talent and passion also shone brightly at numerous LGBT Foundation events, where she graced us with her performances—whether it was during our “We Can Make You Look Beautiful”: Non-femme Presentation, ‘Pampering’ and Cancer Cabaret at Superbia in 2019, or at the first-ever Sapphic Showcase for our Women’s Programme. Claire’s unwavering support extended to her ALL OUT radio show on All.FM, where she consistently uplifted our work.

Beyond her contributions to the LGBT Foundation, Claire was a trailblazer in the wider community. She was the first patron of Manchester Pride and, in 2021, received the Lord Mayor of Manchester’s Special Recognition Award for her remarkable work with women and girls, workers’ rights, and her relentless fight against homophobia in the city.

From all of us at LGBT Foundation, we extend our deepest gratitude to Claire. Your legacy will continue to inspire us all. Rest in power.

Hate has no place in 2024.

We place our hope in the power of unity. We have witnessed countless acts of solidarity, with communities coming together to support one another in the face of misinformation and hate.

Pride events, marches, and community gatherings symbolise love, inclusivity, and acceptance. Whatever you do, please prioritise your safety. If local advice or your own judgment suggests avoiding certain events, please do so.

If you have been the victim of a hate crime, please know you can report it through our helpline on 0345 3 30 30 30.

While we recognise the unquestionable impact this decision will have on trans youth, the judge has made it clear that more needs to be done to help this patient cohort in accessing UK-registered services. The judge has called upon NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care to consider how this could be done before any extension order is made. 

We will continue to work with NHS England and welcome conversations with DHSC on how best to achieve this, ensuring that the experiences and voices of trans youth, their families, and loved ones are at the heart of all future decisions.  

In the meantime, we ask everyone to openly show their love and support for trans and non-binary people and back organisations like TransActual, who are among many making this country a better place for our community. 

Undertaking a placement through my university course is something I knew I wanted to do as soon as I learnt about the opportunities they offered. I had heard plenty about the benefits: earning valuable, real-life experience, gaining hard skills, and making your CV standout. As a second-year BA Jt Hons Sociology and Social Policy student, these benefits were really appealing to me. Everyone wants a job straight out of university, and according to statistics that is significantly more likely if you undertake a placement! So that is what I did.

When exploring the range of placements on offer through my university, LGBT Foundation really stood out to me. Why? Because not only did the goals and values of the organisation directly align with my own, but they also offered a role which really appealed to my interests – a Marketing and Communications Internship! Media, marketing, and communications are roles which I have always found interesting – and considering LGBT foundation’s range of work with the Equality Panel and their ‘Vote with Pride’ campaign, I felt that this placement was the perfect combination of my interests.

My Experience

As soon as I began my 3-week placement I was met with friendly faces, a warm atmosphere, and plenty of tasks to get stuck into. Due to the range of services and support they offer, the work that I was able to undertake was wide ranging, ensuring that I always felt engaged in the work I was doing.

During my placement I was able to:

• Connect with the amazing team
• Learn how to effectively use Canva and CapCut
• Work alongside the Education team, creating reels and posters to promote their ‘Vote with Pride’ campaign
• Create Instagram squares and carousels for Pride events
• Collaborate with the Sexual Health team, inputting data from their Ketso workshop
• Research and contact student groups regarding the ‘Vote with Pride’ campaign
• Research a range of podcasts we could collaborate with, promoting the work we do and engaging with a wider audience
• Write and upload a blog to the website (hello there!)
• Learn about WordPress, and how to make websites and documents more accessible
• Write a bulletin announcement to increase engagement with the Sexual Health team’s Salford STI campaign
• Partake in team meetings and creative jams

One thing I really appreciated during my placement here was their consideration around my workload, with regular check-ins and genuine consideration around what skills I wanted to gain from my time with them. This consideration is not something that was limited to their interns, with there being a range of campaigns and teams that volunteers could work with. I found that this made working here super enjoyable and beneficial for everyone!

Reflections

Overall, I really loved the time that I spent with LGBT Foundation. The experience I gained aided me with sector-specific knowledge and hard skills, allowing me to explore different areas and tasks to discover what I truly enjoyed. This really helped me to reflect on skills I already had, and other skills which I could develop, improving myself and my employability.

My experience here helped me to realise that this is something I would love to do in the future, and expanded my understanding of what working in the charity sector is like. I am so grateful that I undertook this experience, and it is definitely something I would recommend to anyone who is interested in expanding their skill set/exploring a new area of work. Working here has been such a joy, and anyone would be lucky to work alongside LGBT Foundation and their committed, welcoming team.

-Leah Russon Watkins

TLDR Version 

Rates of Sexually Transmitted Infections are continuing to rise across England. Rates of gonorrhoea and syphilis have continued to grow and there are still as many chlamydia cases as last year nationally but still rising in LGBTQ+ communities. Condoms and lube are your best protection from STIs and if you live in Greater Manchester or Liverpool, you can order them to your door here at lgbt.foundation/condoms. You should also test for STIs regularly – book a test with us here at lgbt.foundation/testing and remember to talk to your partners openly about STIs, HIV and testing.  

Want to know more? Let’s look at some of the impacts.  

LGBTQ+ People – particularly Gay, Bi, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) along with people from ethnic minorities and young people continue to be most impacted. Gonorrhoea diagnoses between 2022 and 2023 rose 7.5% with 85,223 cases in 2023 – 5,995 more than in 2022. Syphilis cases are up 9.4% in the same period. Both are treatable with antibiotics and especially with syphilis the earlier you treat it the easier it is. Chlamydia is up 8.2% from last year too amongst GBMSM. Other STIs like genital warts and genital herpes are also increasing.  

What can I do? 

Talking – about testing and STIs with your partners is a big help. It shouldn’t be stigmatising to be treated for an STI or to test regularly.  

Condoms and Lube – Better, wetter, safer sex starts with condoms and lube – PrEP disrupts the transmission of HIV but not other STIs. You can get condoms and lube from us here (link). 

Test – If you have multiple or different partners you should test for STIs around once every 3 months as well as if you have symptoms of an STI. If you have only one partner still test once a year or if you have STI symptoms. Book a test with us lgbt.foundation/testing.

What still needs to be done? 

It’s important for sexual health services to be well funded and for sexual health projects and services that serve our communities to be fully backed. We will work to ensure that relevant bodies are committed to this aim so that all who need sexual health services can access the inclusive and culturally competent care they need.  

Achievements of the Pride in Ageing programme over the past five years include

• Promoting the inclusion of LGBTQ+ issues in training for the social care workforce with an educational tool made in collaboration with the University of Strathclyde for Skills for Care
• Artist residencies run in partnership with Greater Manchester Combined Authority to explore LGBTQ+ inclusivity and discrimination in residential housing.
• A takeover of the Manchester Pride stage in collaboration with Southway Housing, with older people performing scripts they had written alongside RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Series Four finalist Cheddar Gorgeous
• Opening a community garden space designed and looked after by older LGBTQ+ volunteers at Manchester Art Gallery, which was shortlisted for a Spirit of Manchester Award and has been visited by thousands of gallery visitors.
• An end-of-life care project in partnership with St Ann’s Hospice which produced a new training course for professionals and ‘Box of Me’ a workshop for LGBTQ+ communities on preparing for end-of-life care

At the five-year anniversary event in April, Sir Ian remarked on how pleased he was to see “older volunteers at the heart of LGBT Foundation – as they are the experts”. He wished the volunteers success with their current and upcoming projects for the Pride in Ageing Programme. Sir Ian, 84, reflected at Pride in Ageing’s launch event on his experiences as an older gay man. “I was criminalised, and that leaves a brand on you” Ian said, referencing the legal restrictions on homosexuality in England before 1967. “Older LGBTQ+ people need to be surrounded by friendship, love and respect”.

Lawrie Roberts, Pride in Ageing Manager: “The expression of hope and joy by Sir Ian McKellen at our launch has inspired our first five years of activity. We’d like to thank our amazing supporters, including Barclays, Age Friendly Manchester, Manchester City Council and Sir Ian, but most of all we’re celebrating our volunteers’ contributions to this programme – they’re a true inspiration to our LGBTQ+ communities and make a huge impact on the lives of many in Greater Manchester. 

We have an incredibly busy events programme, last month we had a dance workshop, digital café and book club – all for free and which anyone who is older and LGBTQ+ can come along to. The programme’s activity is designed by an advisory panel of volunteers and we are currently taking on new members – if you are LGBTQ+, aged over 50 and from the Greater Manchester area and would like to get involved we would be really interested in talking with you. Please do get in touch with us via the volunteering section of LGBT Foundation’s website or over the phone.”

Mindy, 72, a volunteer with the programme: “Pride in Ageing welcomes the energy, drive and experience of older people within our LGBTQ+ communities in the region. LGBT Foundation is showing that being LGBTQ+ is not just about the youngsters on Canal Street, it’s about everybody.”

Pam, 74, a volunteer with the programme: “This work is literally lifesaving, it matters to me as an older lesbian woman that pride in all its diversity is recognised.”

The Pride in Ageing Programme is supported by Barclays, Age Friendly Manchester and Manchester City Council.

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article or would like to find out more about volunteering, LGBT Foundation’s helpline can be accessed at 0345 30 30 30. To get in touch with the Pride in Ageing programme online you can read more about us at lgbt.foundation or email prideinageing@lgbt.foundation.