North Nottinghamshire LGB Development Group

North Nottinghamshire LGB Development Group 

Background

North Nottinghamshire is served by four CVS (Community/Councils for Voluntary Service): Bassetlaw CVS; Ashfield Links Forum; Newark & Sherwood CVS and Mansfield CVS. Over the years these organisations have valued the opportunity of joint working and have done so on a number of projects. Each organisation became aware of the increasing need to develop work on inclusion and equality issues. They saw particular concerns around Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) “communities” and the Black and Ethnic Minority (BEM) “communities”. The main issues centred around homophobia and racism and they agreed to work together on these issues. The main remit was to look at ways of beginning to develop work around the identified issues. 

Money was gained via the Health Improvement Plan to develop a project around the BEM issues and Networking Action with Voluntary Organisations (NAVO) was asked and agreed to host this. This project employs a Support Worker covering the North Notts area whose main role is to support networks on BEM issues. This work has been and still is complemented by other work for example, tackling structural issues undertaken by Mansfield CVS and Ashfield Links Forum. One of the major benefits of this project is the fact that it has linked in with other appropriate funding regimes, which has then meant that other work has been developed. An example is the link with the grants available through the Nottinghamshire Children’s Fund, which has enabled the project to carry out work in schools on racism. 

As the BEM work was being developed a funding opportunity arose, which the CVS agreed to pursue. This was funding from Stonewall Citizenship 21 to focus on LGB issues. There was a need for a partnership and for the work to have a multi-cultural dimension. The partnership became the CVS and NAVO. A bid was submitted for monies to carry out some detailed work around LGB issues. Monies were not requested for the multi-cultural dimension since BEM work was already happening. The application was successful and enabled the partnership to advertise and recruit 2 consultants/trainers to undertake Stage 1 of the work from April to September in 2002. 
Stage 1 involved:

• a mapping exercise showing the provision for LGB people living in North Notts. Geographically this was to cover the whole of Nottinghamshire, Lincoln, Chesterfield, Sheffield, and Derby
• the production of a directory of services available and how to access them
• the planning and delivery of a 2 day multi-agency LGB awareness training event
• making clear recommendations on how the LGB work could be developed further. 

This work was completed in September 2002 and was very successful.

The partnership was keen to take the work forward and set up a much wider Working Group. In the early stages of the groups’ development BCVS saw an opportunity for funding via the Nottinghamshire Community Foundation. An application to develop Stage 2 of the LGB work was submitted in February 2003 and funding gained. This was to contract one of the consultants from Stage 1 from Easter through to November 2003 to:

• help support the already identified city-based LGB organisations to become county wide including the whole of North Notts
• improve information to relevant individual members of the community as well as a wide range of relevant organisations on support services and mutual aid opportunities available
• plan and deliver further North Notts wide LGB awareness raising training events.