A Message to Our Community – We Need Your Support
Hi Everyone,
I wanted to take a moment to be honest with you about the challenges Derbyshire LGBT+ is currently facing, and why we need our community to come together now, more than ever.
It has been an incredibly tough few months for Derbyshire LGBT+, and I won't pretend otherwise.
Over the last few years, we have witnessed a significant and deeply worrying decline in funding available to LGBT+ organisations. This is happening for several reasons: Funding across the charity sector has reduced considerably, but alongside this, we have seen an increasing reluctance from some funders and organisations to support LGBT+ charities. Sadly, this is not something that is unique to Derbyshire LGBT+; it is being experienced by LGBT+ organisations across the country.
In fact, over the last year, we have seen the loss of numerous LGBT+ charities and community organisations, from national organisations to small, grassroots groups working within local communities. Organisations that have spent years fighting for equality, providing vital support and creating safe spaces for LGBT+ people are struggling to survive. Some have already been forced to close their doors.
At the same time, we are witnessing a worrying shift in the political and social climate. Right-wing politics is gaining ground, and LGBT+ people have increasingly become targets of political debate, misinformation and hostility. Our lives, identities and rights are being used as political pawns. The language used about our community has become increasingly aggressive, and the consequences are being felt by LGBT+ people in their everyday lives.
We are seeing increased hostility, discrimination, hate crime and online abuse. People who simply want to live their lives openly and honestly are feeling frightened, isolated and increasingly uncertain about their future.
And yet, at precisely the time when our community needs support more than ever, the organisations providing that support are being pushed to the brink.
At Derbyshire LGBT+, we have seen a huge increase in the number of people coming through our doors and accessing our services. People are turning to us for advice, guidance, friendship, support and somewhere they can feel safe and accepted. We are supporting young people, older people, people experiencing isolation and mental health difficulties, and a growing number of LGBT+ asylum seekers and refugees who have fled countries where being LGBT+ can put their lives in danger.
For many of these people, Derbyshire LGBT+ is not simply another charity. We are a lifeline. We are somewhere they can be themselves without fear of judgement, somewhere they can find friendship and belonging, and somewhere they know they will be listened to, understood and supported.
For 43 years, Derbyshire LGBT+ has been here for our community. We have supported generations of LGBT+ people across the county, providing services, challenging discrimination, creating safe spaces and helping people realise that they are not alone. We have built something incredibly special, and we are determined not to lose it.
However, I have to be honest about the reality of our situation.
This year has been the most difficult in our organisation's history.
Our funding has fallen by an alarming 40%, and we have had to make a significant reduction in staffing. This has been incredibly difficult, both professionally and personally. The people who work for Derbyshire LGBT+ are passionate about what they do and deeply committed to our community. Recently, our remaining staff have even agreed to take a reduction in their own pay to help keep our services running across Derbyshire.
Think about that for a moment. At a time when demand for our services is increasing, we have fewer staff, fewer resources and significantly less funding to meet those needs. We are doing everything we possibly can to protect the services that people rely on, but there is only so much we can do with the resources available.
We cannot simply keep asking our staff to do more, work harder and make further sacrifices. We cannot continue to stretch already limited resources indefinitely. And we cannot stand by and watch essential services disappear when we know how desperately they are needed.
You may have seen that we have recently launched a Crowdfunder to help raise the funding we desperately need to bridge this financial gap and protect our services. This is not simply about keeping a charity going. It is about protecting the support, friendship, safety and sense of belonging that so many LGBT+ people across Derbyshire depend upon.
We need our community to stand together. We need you.
Derbyshire LGBT+ belongs to all of us. It has been built over generations by people who believed in equality, friendship, solidarity and the importance of having somewhere to turn when life becomes difficult. We cannot allow that legacy to disappear because of a lack of funding.
I am asking everyone who cares about LGBT+ equality, who values our community and who believes that every LGBT+ person deserves to live safely, happily and without fear, to please get involved.
There are several ways you can help:
· Donate to our Crowdfunder. Every donation, however small, will make a difference. If you can afford £5, £10 or £20, please consider giving it. Small donations from lots of people can add up to something life-changing.
· Volunteer with us. Give us some of your time, skills or experience. Volunteers are an essential part of what makes our organisation work.
· Share our social media posts. Every time you see one of our fundraising posts, please share it. Help us reach people who may not know about our work or the challenges we are facing.
· Raise funds for us. Organise a sponsored walk, run, swim, quiz, coffee morning, fundraising event or any other activity. Get your friends, family, colleagues and local businesses involved.
· Talk about us. Tell people what Derbyshire LGBT+ does, why it matters and why we need their support. Help us make sure our message reaches every corner of Derbyshire.
And please remember, you don't have to be LGBT+ to support us. Our straight allies, friends, families, colleagues and supporters are just as important in helping us protect the future of our organisation and the communities we serve.
This is about more than money. It is about solidarity. It is about standing up for one another. It is about making sure that whatever the political climate, LGBT+ people across Derbyshire know they are valued, supported and never alone.
We have spent 43 years standing alongside our community. We have been there through difficult times before, and we have always found the strength to keep going because of the people who believe in what we do.
But we cannot do it alone.
I don't want to look back in a few years and wonder what happened to the services, community spaces and support networks that so many people helped to build. I don't want another generation of LGBT+ people to lose somewhere they can turn for help, friendship and acceptance simply because we couldn't raise the funds to keep the doors open.
We have fought too hard, achieved too much and changed too many lives to give up now.
Please stand with us. Please support us. Please help us protect the future of Derbyshire LGBT+.
Together, we can make sure that Derbyshire remains a place where LGBT+ people have somewhere to belong, somewhere to feel safe and somewhere to be themselves.
Thank you for everything you have done, and everything you can do to help us keep going.
With thanks and solidarity,
Ian Robson
Derbyshire LGBT+
Support our Crowdfunder today: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/derbyshire-lgbt