The House in Grange is an LGBTQ+ Community hub based in Grange over Sands in South Cumbria. The hub will become a meeting place and safe space for the LGBTQ+ Community in the area, we will offer a range of services to both the young and old, who currently have nowhere else to go. Where they can share their thoughts and feelings and truly be themselves. We aim to offer daily drop in chat sessions and a warm zone when the weather turns colder. We will have a designated LGBTQ+ counsellor to help with the Mental Health needs and worries of the community. We will also offer Wellness classes and Art instruction and more lighter events like a Book club and themed evenings ie Bingo. We will also be working in conjunction with various secondary schools and have a on site Teen and Youth Worker. This hub is truly needed in this area as many in the community are isolated and alone and the Mental Health of the LGBTQ+ Community is a major issue. We wish to also be a "sign posting" organisation helping people to get the correct help and advice from the appropriate agencies. This is a very rural area so basing ourselves in the heart of the town will be very beneficial to all who will use our service. This will be a completely new venture in this area. We also intend to have a social media presence and a dedicated member of staff to keep our community up to date on news and events. We also intend to work alongside nationwide LGBTQ+ organisations and team up at events and spread the message of diversity, equity and inclusion.
The House in Grange has had a year's long community consultation process where our project development coordinator has spent many months gathering community feedback and support, which has been overwhelmingly positive. In the early stages of setting up the community hub we approached local businesses to get their thoughts on having an LGBTQ+ Space in the town and overwhelmingly the feedback was positive once again. We then approached the local MP Mr Tim Farron who has given us his full backing and support. We also have the support of Westmorland council with whom we will have regular contact in regards to local issues that will affect the LGBTQ+ community and who are supporting us with a funding bid to secure our premises. We also have the support of the local police department and the head of anti-hate crime Kendal. The Trustees of the charity are all local to Grange including two local business owners who are beloved within the community, a well respected and loved senior who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the group and a well know social media personality who will be managing all of our social media sites. The hub will be open daily and all are welcome and we will be respecting all genders and pronouns. The hub will be community led, for the community, by the community. We intend to hold seasonal events which will include a summer fayre, fun day, attending Pride festival in Kendal and various festivities over the Christmas holidays.
In our local rural area of South Cumbria, services available for the LGBTQ+ community and understanding of the LGBTQ+ community are limited and far between. With a quarter of all hate crimes in Cumbria is against gay and transgender people - the highest percentage in the country according to the home office - we really feel that The House is needed more now than ever, with many of our board of trustees and committee personally experiencing multiple hate crimes against them within the last few months - our project development officer was recently the victim of a transphobic attack at her work place in a local coffee shop and despite the perpetrator charged for a hate crime, our development officer was fired from her part time job as the coffee shop chose to side with the transphobic attacker. This is just one example of the kind of discrimination that our local LGBTQ+ community face on a daily basis in Cumbria in their lives and careers. The main aim of the Hub is to give the LGBTQ+ Community a much needed safe environment to meet and express themselves without fear or persecution. As we grow and expand and listen to the community we intend to do more outreach with the homeless LGBTQ+ people and connect them with Government and Council agencies who can help get them temporary accommodation and any further support needed. We also have the support of Kendal pride, the Directory of Social Change and the Cumbria Voluntary Service. We would also like to work hand in hand with local suicide prevention teams to help any members of the LGBTQ+ who are struggling with mental health issues and have thoughts of self harm and helping them find the right solutions for them.