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Young Gays in West of England Stand to Gain from Big Lottery Fund Cash Award
 

BRISTOL,  August 26, 2009  –   A variety of initiatives are planned for the coming years by Bristol-based Educational Action Challenging Homophobia (EACH) following a cash award of £391,668 from the Big Lottery Fund.

“EACH’s lottery win, in the year we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the United Nations’ Convention of the Rights of the Child is most welcome,” commented Jonathan Charlesworth, EACH’s executive director and co-author of the Department for Children, Schools and Families’ guidance: Safe to Learn: Homophobic Bullying.

“Far too many homophobically bullied gay young people leave our schools with few or poor qualifications, regardless of their actual academic potential,” he said last night.

“This initiative strives to build their confidence in the very institutions set up to nurture them.  We want to see many more young people thrive: realise their academic and social potential and engage positively in all aspects of life.

“Each and every young person participating in this initiative will be encouraged to become the best person they can be,” he pointed out.

A variety of exciting initiatives are planned over the next five years.

Included is the delivery of awareness-raising sessions by young people to complement EACH’s ongoing schools’ training in North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset and Bristol.

Staff will learn about the issues which can profoundly affect young gay people’s well-being and ability to achieve the Government’s five Every Child Matters aspirations

Among the other projects will be ‘residentials’ which, with the support of qualified youth workers, will provide challenging activities to develop young gay people’s confidence, interpersonal and leadership skills.

Also, a wide range of agencies will be involved and receive training from young people to devise action plans to help eliminate homophobic bullying and harassment, and ‘peer mentors’ across the West of England will be trained-up to raise awareness of the issues affecting lesbian, gay or bisexual young people and receive an accredited award for their efforts.

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