Up until the year 2000, a historic ban was in place that prevented openly out LGBTQ+ persons from serving within the Armed Forces. Sadly, many people suffered and faced gross injustices as part of this ban.
Our outreach work aims to address issues that were caused as a result of this by working with military organisations to promote inclusivity and stronger relationships between the Armed Forces and LGBTQ+ communities.
Funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, this project forms part of a bid titled “Tackling Loneliness” where we aim to support any Armed Forces personnel and Veterans, who identify as LGBTQ+.
HOW CAN WE HELP?
Befriending Service
We run a tailored befriending service where we assign each service user a befriender, offering a regular check-in for anyone who signs up. These consist of weekly phone calls with a trained volunteer who lends an ear to those wishing to have someone to talk to.
Creative Well-being Sessions
Our creative well-being sessions seek to assist Armed Forces members by providing alternative spaces for people to explore their own health and issues in a safe space.
Networking Opportunities
We facilitate networking opportunities allowing a safe space to meet and connect with similar LGBTQ+ people, both in person and virtually via events that we host.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
LGBT Foundation prides itself on the commitment and enthusiasm of our volunteers who help to run our fantastic services.
There are many ways for you to be a part of this rewarding outreach work.
Our befriending service allows volunteers to be on hand to make and receive phone calls for a friendly check-in on a weekly basis. Our volunteers are given extensive training and are also given a DBS clearance check free of charge.
You can also get involved by working behind the scenes at our events where you can welcome guests, assist with refreshments, or just be another friendly face on behalf of our organisation to help support and facilitate activities.
How do you access our services?
Whether you are interested in accessing any of these services, or if you’d like to sign up as a volunteer, we invite you to get in touch with our project coordinator Thuy-Vi (she/her)
You can also access our volunteer form for more information about this, and all other volunteer opportunities within the organisation.
Once you have completed this, someone will get back to you to have a chat about where your strengths lie and how we can best make use of these whilst providing support and services to the LGBTQ+ community.
