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The Ledward Centre Chris Gull, chair of the Brighton Rainbow Fund and facilitator of the new LGBTQ+ community centre, shares early responses to the LGBTQ+ Community Input Survey, which is an opportunity to share how you've been affected by Covid and have your say on the future of the centre
) The Community Input Survey also has information on how you can help get responses from those who are not online, and/or are unaware of The Ledward Centre and the survey. Some of what we can see from our responses so far (approx. 200 completed surveys).
And here are the extra suggestions from the respondents.
Loneliness: We asked people to choose from one of five options to describe their feeling of loneliness. We then asked what they would have answered before Covid. There was a significant drop in the percentage of those reporting ‘not at all lonely’ and ‘not so lonely’, and a consequential rise in those reporting ‘somewhat lonely’, ‘very lonely’ and ‘extremely We also asked which features people would like to see lonely’… In short, respondents on average felt more incorporated into the centre as a whole (as opposed lonely than before Covid. to events in the cafeteria, which is reported above), and again we made some suggestions, and asked for more. The options regarding alcohol were: ‘alcohol free’, ‘only beer, cider and wine with meals’ (purple on the graph), or ‘also before events’ (pink).
Perhaps, more importantly, you can really help by thinking about people you know who are probably unaware of this survey and encourage them to complete it. If they can't do that online, then please download and print the survey for them to complete, anonymously if they wish. The link to the survey form to be printed is www.ledcen.biz/printsurvey. The completed form can then be returned to Freepost GSCENE (just those two words). Thank you to Gscene for allowing use of its Freepost address. D Info on The Ledward Centre: www.ledcen.biz
New bus carries tribute to James Ledward ) A bus named after the late editor of Gscene, James Ledward, has been launched. Arranged by his long-time friend and colleague Billie Lewis, and Brighton & Hove Buses, the number 1 service will travel through St James’s Street - the heart of LGBTQ+ Brighton.
Employment: A similar before and after question was asked about employment status, with the number in full-time employment dropping from 57% to 50%, those in part-time work rose 6% and those unemployed rose by 2%.
Martin Harris, managing director of Brighton & Hove Buses, said: “James’s contribution to Brighton's LGBTQ+ community was huge. He continuously lobbied the government so that the LGBTQ+ community got its fair share of money to fight HIV and Aids and then he gave that community a voice when he founded Gscene. We're proud to have his name on the front of one of our new buses.”
Financial security: Finally we asked how financially secure respondents felt, given a choice of 'no problems', 'doing well', 'barely managing' and 'not managing'. There was a slight increase in those mentioning that said they had 'no problems' and a slight increase in those saying that they were 'not managing', however the big difference came in the middle, with an 8.5% decrease in those saying they were 'doing well' and a 7.27% increase in those that said they were 'barely managing'.
Events in the Community Cafeteria: Here are our suggestions and what our respondents say they’d be interested in.
Some characteristics seem to be underrepresented in the responses so far, so we'd particularly like to hear more from you if you consider yourself to be LGBTQ+ and are: Older (55+), young (up to 25), QTIPoC, BAME, an asylum seeker, disabled, blind or visually impaired, deaf or hard of hearing, autistic or neurodivergent, a refugee, trans, non-binary, intersex, queer, bisexual, a parent, a family with children, homeless, housebound, isolated, have mental health issues, don't have access to the internet or a smart phone, or any other characteristic that you feel we need to hear about to make our planning and delivery truly inclusive.
Effects of Covid
A number of questions in the survey ask people to make suggestions of what they'd like to see us offer in the centre. We gave examples for them to tick (or not), and then the opportunity to make more suggestions.
We would now like to hear more from individuals within our LGBTQ+ communities, either by completing the survey online at www.ledcen.biz/ survey, by taking part in focus groups, or by talking to us individually.
The survey, which will remain open indefinitely, is proving to be really helpful in our planning. We now have a clearer idea of how the physical space can be constructed to allow the centre to be an accessible, safe, comfortable and welcoming place for all the diverse LGBTQ+ communities in Brighton & Hove, and of the systems and policies that will further those ambitions.
Billie Lewis added: ""I was delighted to be able to work on this project with Brighton & Hove Buses from the beginning with James' wonderful sister Ros and his much loved husband Besi. James is still desperately missed within the community and knowing his bus is on the route that goes near the new Ledward Centre and through the LGBTQ+ village is very comforting. I did chuckle to myself hearing him shout out 'Do you want some onions to go with that mince?' every time the stop bell is pushed!""
