The Rainbow Alliance: one year on
Today marks one year since the Rainbow Alliance was launched at Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
Co-founders Rhys and Kate
The Alliance is a network of staff, service users and carers committed to enhancing the quality of services the Trust delivers to the LGBT+ community.
Kate Ward, Clinical Team Manager and co-founder of the Rainbow Alliance, said: “LGBT+ people can be at a higher risk of experiencing a mental health problem than the wider population. As a provider of mental health and learning disability services, we need to consistently acknowledge and address the inequalities which LGBT+ people face in society to better meet their healthcare needs. The Rainbow Alliance is a movement which is working to achieve this.
“This time last year I was inspired to help this community after attending a fundraising event in memory of a young gay man who had taken his own life. I saw mental health charities and Leeds City Council stand side-by-side demonstrating a commitment to support the LGBT+ community. From that night on, I felt like I needed to do something.”
The Rainbow Alliance was officially launched in March last year and has since developed partnerships with third sector and local NHS providers. Most importantly, it’s working to build relationships with the LGBT+ community itself.
In the last year, it’s gained more than 80 members and will soon be influencing the way the Trust monitors the sexual orientation of service users.
Rhys Davies, Mental Health Nurse and co-founder of the Rainbow Alliance, said: “We want to improve the attitudes, environments and support for this community when in our care. We’ve created a training plan for our members, which we hope will raise awareness and encourage those conversations which inspire change and trust. This year we’ll be focusing mainly on promoting the Rainbow Alliance across the Trust, recruiting members who are representative of the LGBT+ community and evaluating our training plan.”
To become a member, please email rainbow.lypft@nhs.net.