Bristol City Council

From Anne James, Principal Equalities Officer, Equalities and Community Cohesion Team, Bristol City Council.

We are conducting a survey and workshops on Domestic violence and abuse amongst the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities. The survey will help to influence how services are provided for LGBT people, including disabled LGBT people.

(Please note: after this survey we will be conducting a survey on disabled and Deaf people’s experiences of domestic abuse as we know both LGBT people and disabled people are less likely to report DVA, so there will be an opportunity for disabled and Deaf people to participate in workshops as well.)

We would like LGBT people who have experienced domestic violence and abuse AND people who have supported someone who is LGBT who has experienced domestic violence and abuse to be involved in the survey. This is because we would like to hear from people who have direct experience of the issues and, where relevant, services received.

We will not know from the questionnaire if you are giving your own experiences or the experiences of a friend so you can complete the questionnaire or come along to a workshop and not have to reveal if you have experienced domestic violence and abuse.

The questionnaire will be out shortly.
Please let me know if you would like to attend the workshops, I have organised BSL interpreters but I can’t reveal the venue in a general email like this so you need to contact me by email or text so I can let you know the venue.

There is a workshop for Gay, bisexual and trans people who identify as men from 6-8pm on Tuesday 24 April 2012
and a workshop for lesbians, bisexual and trans people who identify as women from 6-8pm on Wednesday 25 April 2012

Contact me by email anne.james@bristol.gov.uk or 07807 608240

My thanks in anticipation

Anne James
Principal Equalities Officer
Equalities and Community Cohesion Team
Room U16, the Council House
College Green
Bristol
BS1 5TR

Tel 0117 922 4446
Fax 0117 922 2392
www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/community-and-living/equality-and-diversity/

Bristol City Council is undertaking work to transform the way social care is delivered in order to enable people to have more choice and control and to ensure appropriate social care provision for the future.

We want to involve people in the social care transformation program so have arranged for a series of briefing events during which we will discuss the full programme and also consult on residential and day opportunities.

The attached flyer is an invitation to attend one of 3 meetings arranged to offer people with specific needs the opportunity to take part in the consultation and hear their views.

We look forward to meeting with you and would be grateful if you could bring this to the attention of members of your organisation and people who may be interested in attending.

Date, Time and Venue	Invitation to hear views from:
Tuesday 7^th Feb 2012 18:00 – 20:00 Council House College Green	Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community Groups
Monday 13^th February 201218:00 – 20:00 Council House College Green	Older and Disabled Community Groups
Wednesday 15^th February 2012 15:00 – 19:00 Council House College Green	Black Minority Ethnic Community Groups

If you wish to discuss any aspects of this invitation or confirm attendance please contact :

Tel 0117 352 1456 or email residential.consultation@bristol.gov.uk

HSC Letter to equalities groups

Bristol City Council is consulting about the future of adult and elderly care services.

This is an opportunity for us all to raise the profile of LGBT elderly care and flag to care organisations, as well as the Council’s Commissioners for these essential services, the extreme degree of vulnerability in which lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender elders are placed, when they go into residential care.

If you plan to participate, below are some resources for you to look at, for information.

Key reports for download:

Older LGBT Network report on the needs of older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people

Over the Rainbow but not Over The Hill, from an Age Concern conference held on 12 March 2009, in York

Older LGBT Checklist for adult social care, by Opening Doors London, for Organisations working with older Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender people.

Other websites and resources:

Age of Diversity – an LGBT website run by and for older people
Age UK’s page on LGBT Elders
Rainbow Lives project
EHRC Resources page

Below are the details of the consultation.

From the Council’s website:

Release date: Fri, 02/12/2011

A major consultation exercise begins this week on the future of social care for adults in Bristol.

Questionnaires are now available online, asking people to give their views on residential and day care services in the city. The information will be used to help shape future plans for services in the city.

A series of meetings is also planned, with launch meetings on 5th and 7th December. Further focus groups will be held during December, January and February. Information, timings and questionnaires are available at the following links:

The consultation closes on 29th February, when detailed proposals will be drawn up for consideration by the council’s Cabinet.

Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, Cllr Jon Rogers, said:

“Everyone in Bristol should have an interest in how population changes and future expense will shape the way the we look after older and vulnerable adults. We are particularly keen to hear from service users, their families and friends, council staff and other stakeholders during the three-month consultation. This includes those who use services delivered by the independent sector.

“Personal budgets will give people more choice and control over how their needs are met and evidence suggests they will expect to stay in their own homes living independently with support for as long as possible.

“Bristol is not alone in exploring these issues and many parts of the country are reducing building-based services and investing in more flexible community-based care.”

On Thursday 24 November, Bristol City Council’s cabinet gave the go ahead for consultation to begin on the development of a new model for day services and a three-year plan for future residential care delivery.

Currently day services for people with learning disabilities, older people, people with dementia and adults with disabilities are running at 70 per cent capacity. Changes mean that more users will be given money directly to decide how they purchase the support they need.

Bristol has around 140 residential care homes, 11 of these run by Bristol City Council.

Council-run residential care homes for older people were reviewed in 2008, with recommendations put forward to close all council-run services and replace with a smaller number of resource centres and specialist dementia units. Work on this plan was put on hold in 2010, due to falling property prices and rising staff costs. This consultation re-looks at how services can be improved by developing alternatives to long-term residential care and making best use of all care homes, including the independent sector.

Download the Bristol Black History Month 2011 Programme

..or look at the Calendar view of events.

Bristol prepares to celebrate the diversity of gifts that its Black community contributes to the cultural life of the City.

During Black History month: stories of courage, stories of struggle, stories of wonder, stories of daring, imagination and humour, stories of victory and creativity, in celebration, reflection, music, dance, poetry, theatre, talks and art.

Celebrate Diversity!

Celebrate our people!

Celebrate Black History Month!

From Tosin Lawal, tosin.lawal@bristol.gov.uk

I am an intern at the Bristol City Council working in the Equalities Department. I am writing to ask if you would like to be part of this short term project. The aim of the program is to collect and carry out a survey on the quality of life in Bristol of LGB people and also to show the diversity of LGB workers. The booklet will profile the variety of jobs undertaken by LGB staff working in Bristol.

So far there are about 20 people who have shown their interest in the project. There isn’t a guarantee that all the people interviewed will be featured in the booklet, but they might feature on the front cover, if they want to.

What is required from LGB staff
1) Consider whether you would like to be profiled in the booklet? Photo and short info on what you do as part of your job.
2) Contact me at the above email address if you would like to volunteer to be profiled.

What will be the product.
The booklet will look a bit like one the council produced for BME staff in 2009. But the focus will be the breadth of job opportunities available across the public sector in Bristol and it will also include a little on each partner organisation’s commitment/actions to promoting LGB equality.

At present we have funding to produce the document as a PDF only but are seeking funding from public sector partners to produce the information as a paper copy.

For further information, queries or interest in participating please feel free to contact me.

The new, Draft Plan for 2011 to 2014 has just been published by Bristol City Council’s Children and Young People’s Services (CYPS) for consultation but, sadly, in spite of three years’ campaigning, there is no mention of LGBT children, LGBT familes and anti-homophobic bullying strategy anywhere in it.

Many people who participated in the three-year campaign, sparked off by the worrying displays of homophobia at two Easton primary schools, following the introduction of age-appropriate learning materials by No Outsiders, will be astounded at this glaring omission.

At four separate Open Meetings held by the Forum, in April 2008, July 2008 and September 2009 and November 2009, entitled “Challenging Homophobia, Supporting Equality in Schools” the Forum fielded speakers who presented the evidence about homophobia in Bristol schools.

The Forum repeatedly asked that CYPS address this as a matter of urgency.

Eventually the Authority signed-up to Stonewall’s Educational Champions programme and promised to build zero tolerance of homophobic bullying into its policies, guidance and practice.

The Forum’s Co-chair, Alan Palmer, has written to the Authority to challenge this glaring omission.

Read his letter in Forum News.

LGBT Bristol

Survey and workshops on Domestic Violence and Abuse amongst the LGBT communities

From Anne James, Principal Equalities Officer, Equalities and Community Cohesion Team, Bristol City Council.

Consultation Invitation to Equality & Community Groups

Have Your Say in the Council’s consultation on Adult and Elderly care. Closes 29th February ’12

Bristol City Council is consulting about the future of adult and elderly care services.

Key reports for download:

Other websites and resources:

From the Council’s website:

Bristol Black History month 2011

Would you like to feature in a leaflet on LGBT workers in Bristol?

LGBT Bristol’s response to CYPS Plan 2011-14: “what about homophobic bullying?”