I don’t feel my age or my sexuality (gay man) define me, there are aspects of me. However I did recognise that as I retired at 65 yrs, 18 months ago, that life would change. The great thing is I have not missed work and I was aware I needed to take a positive approach to my future life and take the advice of my mother ‘ the need to make friends all your life’.

I have taken the opportunity of making use of the fantastic resource of the Birmingham LGBT in a walking group, literature group, coffee morning etc and met some interesting new people. I have not restricted myself to the LGBTQIA+ community as go to a couple of Tai Chi classes. One been going for the past six years and the other I discovered at my local Health and Wellbeing Centre in Shard End just from a passing comment from a friend I meet at local S hard End community events and this one is free!

As I grow older and I expect to make new connections and also reconnect to those friends my link has dropped to just a Christmas card to actual go and visit (started already). Although I said my sexuality does not define me I never want to feel I can’t be honest about mine in appropriate situations. So when I applied as a school governor I was open on this issue. Going back to my mother I was brought up to have respect for myself and others, treating everyone as an individual.

 

Join us on the 1st November for the Ageing with Pride community launch.

Ageing with Pride, a 12 month campaign from Birmingham LGBT has launched.
Ageing with Pride seeks to bring visibility to older LGBT people and tackle some of the issues that we face as we grow older. An important part of the campaign is also encouraging member of the younger and older community to bridge the gap between them by reaching out to the older community.
These are the people that created our community, don’t let them fade into the background!
Come a celebrate with us at The Loft, with great music, food and conversation.
Best of all, this event is totally free!

Date: Thursday 1st November 2018

Venue: The Loft 143 Bromsgrove St, Birmingham B5 6RG

Time: 6.30-9pm

Feel free to turn up!

Birmingham LGBT have just launched their newest campaign ‘Ageing with Pride’

Taking place over the next 12 months ‘Ageing with Pride’ will seek to bring much needed visibility to members of the LGBT community who are aged 50 and over. Using outdoor media such as billboards, bus stop shelters and bus posters, as well as digital marketing such as social media, we aim to spread our message far and wide. We’ll also be working with local media partners such as Midland Zone, and what’s On magazine. This is a big campaign that can do a lot of good in Birmingham and maybe even further a-field.

The campaign will focus it’s messaging in three strands. The first strand ‘Keep your Rainbow’ encourages older LGBT+ people to be themselves and to continue to fight for acceptance, as they did creating the community that now exists from the sum of their hard work and dedication. The second ‘Bridge the Gap’ encourages conversation between older and younger

generations in order to dismantle ageism, and the third ‘Continue the Journey’ seeks to galvanise older LGBT people to continue to engage in activity and fight isolation alongside their peers.

We’ll be keeping you updated on the progress of the campaign through monthly blogs, and via social media. Follow us on Twitter at @ageingwithpride.

Last month we had our partners launch, sponsored by Gowling WLG it presented a fantastic opportunity for us to thank everyone who made the campaign possible. Speeches from all key partners were made, and the first short film was unveiled.

We’ve since started on outdoor activity as well as attending community events with promotional materials such as trolley coins, posters, tote bags and t-shirts.

We’re really proud of the work Ageing with Pride is doing!

Ageing with Pride is looking for Ambassadors to represent the campaign, from all walks
of life and backgrounds. There are advisory roles for participants with time constraints or issues with mobility, we’re asking that all ambassadors contribute to how the campaign will progress. Other roles are to promote its key messages. Ambassadors could visit care homes, GP surgeries, community centres, hospitals and libraries armed with the knowledge, materials and messages to improve areas and services with respect to inclusion for older LGBT people

To find out more about becoming an ambassador or for further information on Ageing with Pride more, visit our website www.ageingwithpride.co.uk, or call Rico Johnson on  0121 643 0821. Alternatively, you can come and visit us at Birmingham LGBT center 38-40 Holloway Circus, Birmingham B1 1EQ, we’re always happy to have a cuppa and a chat