Reflecting on LGBTQ+ support for young people
Robbie Morrison, Steps into Work Intern with the Education & Youth Team, interviewed Lucie Brooke co-founder of Free2B Alliance a Young Londoners Fund project for Pride month. You can read more about the great work they have been doing and their journey in advocating for LGBTQ+ young people.
Q&A
Can you tell us a bit about Free2B Alliance?
We deliver an LGBTQ+ specific service, providing targeted 1:1 and group support to LGBTQ+ young people who experience discrimination and inequality within education, resulting in social exclusion and a negative impact on mental health and emotional well-being. Our project will provide a much-needed safe space for each young person. A space where they don’t have to agonise over whether the professional will understand their gender identity or assume their sexuality. A space where they are immediately accepted for who they are - an essential (but so often lacking) ingredient for an effective mentoring relationship.
What do you like doing in your team?
I really enjoy our weekly team meeting on zoom, as it’s great to catch up with everyone – especially throughout the lockdowns. I also really enjoy working with our young people on a Friday – I run our youth council sessions and have our youth clubs on Fridays.
What inspired you to set up Free2B alliance?
Co-founder Nicki and I worked for the local authority originally in the mid 2000’s. we held an event for LGBT history month and found there wasn’t a lot of understanding. We decided to launch The Gap youth group which was originally funded by our local authority. We ran this successfully for several years but found more and more young people needed 121 support. As demand increased cuts to local services also took place. In 2015 we decided to launch Free2B as a CIC and expand our services. This allowed us to introduce 121 work more frequently with young people.
Is there any work that is related to pride month?
We’ve been able to do a few things to celebrate - though not as much as in previous years because of the pandemic. We asked the young people in our youth service what they would like to do to celebrate, and they requested a queer goodie bag. Our young people designed the bag with an LGBT logo and lots of great well-being resources, including rainbow stress balls, fidget rings, and socks! Our young people also designed bunting based on LGBT flags. We hosted a pride quiz so our young people can learn about their history and we asked our members to write ‘what pride month means to them.’ We also created PowerPoints for local school children to learn about LGBTQ+ people and rights.
How do you see pride month and the awareness around LGBTQ+ rights around the last couple of years?
It is great that more corporates are using rainbows on their logo as this promotes visibility. However, we need more action behind this such as donating to local LGBT youth groups. Our young people have said they aren’t interested if a company has a rainbow flag, it is about the additional support they can give.
What is the key to creating a safe space for LGBTQ+ people to share their experiences?
A key to our youth clubs is we don’t share our venue address to keep our members safe. Individuals have to get in touch to join – which we know can create a barrier, but ultimately our members understand why we do not advertise our address. It's also about welcoming young people – for many it may be the first time they are invited to use their chosen name and pronouns which can really help new young people feel there are in a safe and understanding space.
How have you seen Pride Month and LGBTQ+ awareness change over the past few years?
People are more interested in learning and there is greater interest from schools. There is much greater understanding amongst young people on gender diversity than a few years ago. It is great the equalities act is there but needs to go further and be put into action. We are improving but are not quite there yet.
How do you see the future of your CIC?
Hopes to go from strength to strength and continue to reach more young people. Mainstream services are not meeting their needs. We would like to expand training services and want schools and corporates to expand their practices.
How do you see the future in LGBTQ+ rights?
Would like Non-binary to be recognised as a legal gender. We would like to see improvements around trans rights for young people and adults.