Across the month of June, Power2 has been celebrating and uplifting our LGBTQ+ young people and members of staff.

Despite coronavirus restrictions meaning we couldn't celebrate in person (as we did in the photo above from Manchester Pride 2019), Power2 nonetheless chose to mark the historic month.

June was originally chosen as Pride Month because it was the month when the Stonewall Riots started in 1969. Stonewall is often considered to be the start of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement (and it’s where the UK LGBTQ+ charity gets its name from).

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Young Leaders learn about the LGBTQ+ community

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Earlier in June, Power2 Young Leaders spent a day during their half term activities learning about the LGBTQ+ community and LGBTQ+ history, as well as how to be a better ally. In a later session, they made fabulous Pride-themed face masks and flags, as you can see above!

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Power2 staff development

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Meanwhile, Programme Lead Mark Allison has been running a series of virtual training sessions for Power2 staff.

Mark has covered a range of topics, from LGBTQ+ culture, to the challenges trans young people face today, to the current state of LGBTQ+ rights in UK law.

‘I couldn’t be prouder of the team I work with. The open-mindedness of the team in addressing topics that affect the LGBTQ+ community has been beautiful. They genuinely want to learn and understand issues in the community.’

Mark Allison, Power2 Programme Lead

Mark added, ‘We’ve spoken frankly about the challenges that trans young people face. In addition, we’ve discussed how to support young people coming out and other issues such as how the education system does not yet deliver on issues such as LGBTQ+ sexual health. I am honoured to be a part of an inclusive organisation like Power2.’

Will Cole, Head of Programme Development, said: ‘At Power2 we believe all people are equal and should be equally represented; and as a staff team we want to be equipped to support all young people in the best possible way. It’s been great to be part of such a positive learning environment.’

Mark's sessions have been well received across the organisation, not just among the programmes team. Jennifer Smith, Executive Manager, said, ‘I was so happy to see that Power2 was offering a series of LGBTQ+ awareness sessions. It has been great learning about a variety of issues from someone with lived experience in a safe space. This is so important to help us liaise with colleagues and being there for the young people in our programmes.’

Power2 has also introduced pronoun sharing in email signatures to include trans, non-binary and non-conforming people more comfortably. We are also in the process of adding pronouns to staff profiles on the Power2 website in the coming weeks.

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A young person's perspective

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As part of the preparations for our recent Power2 Be Me event, Young Leader Ash recently told us how much Power2 meant to them as an young person. We are so proud of them and all our LGBTQ+ young people.