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“When my partner was submitted to a care home, a lesbian couple we met there warned us against telling staff we were gay” explained Ted Brown, an LGBTQ+ activist based in London. As a carer to a queer partner with dementia, Ted found he was dismissed by social care staff, excluded from treatment plans, and pressured to “go back into the closet” to avoid discrimination. When he discovered bruises on his partner Noel’s body, two whistle-blowers confirmed his suspicion: Noel had suffered physical abuse by staff. After Noel passed away, Ted launched a civil case against the local authority and a campaign against LGBTQ+ abuse in statutory care systems.
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This blog is a reflection about two collaborative workshops between Step Forward and QUEERCIRCLE, and what we can learn from them about LGBTQ+ youth work.
I am an LGBTQ+ Youth Development and Wellbeing Worker at Step Forward, a young peoples’ charity in Tower Hamlets which offers Counselling, CBT and Personal Development sessions to young people between the ages of 11 and 25. We also have a weekly LGBTQ+ youth group and a holiday programme of activities during the school holidays.
