Fourteen local LGBT+/HIV organisations attended The Working to Connect showcase event on Thursday, June 6 at the Friends Meeting House in central Brighton.
LLOYD Russell-Moyle the Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven was present, but sadly local councillors were scarce on the ground except for Cllr Phelim MacCafferty the Convenor of the Green group on Brighton and Hove City Council and lasts year’s Mayor, Dee Simson the Conservative councillor for Woodingdean ward.
Finola Brophy chair of Working to Connect welcomed everyone to the showcase introducing Sam Hall, chair of Clare Project, Angela Green from Trans Pride and John Moore, chair of BLAGSS and Gary Pargeter from Lunch Positive who all spoke of the benefits of membership of Working to Connect.
The evening concluded with a wonderful buffet provided by Lunch Positive, the HIV lunch club, giving everyone the chance to chat and get to know each other.
Working to Connect was established in 2014 with the aim of creating a network of smaller LGBT+and HIV+ groups and charities based in Brighton and Hove.
The network operates primarily to encourage peer support to member organisations, advocate for equality in the statutory and third sector and provide a mechanism for distribution of public infrastructure funds.
Groups interested in membership must be not-for-profit, mainly volunteer led, provide services to the LGBT+/HIV+ communities and aspire to a formal constitution with an Equality & Inclusion policy.
To apply for membership contact via their website at www.lgbt-groups.org or by post to Working to Connect, c/o Community Base, 113 Queens Road, Brighton BN1 3XG.
Groups present at the showcase, included: Accessibility Matters, BLAGSS, Brighton Bothways, LGBT Community Safety Forum, Lunch Positive, MCC Brighton, Navigate Brighton, Older and Out Brighton, Peer Action, Rainbow Chorus, The Clare Project, Trans Pride Brighton, Trans Can Sport and Village MCC.