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25 or under?
Would you like your voice to be heard?
Would you be prepared to talk about the experiences you’ve had?

FILL IN AN ONLINE SURVEY FOR A CHANCE TO WIN £50!!!

Solutions are conducting some research in association with Q:alliance and could really do with your input. Results from this survey will help improve the services young LGBT people get from a variety of agencies and help us all to get a better understanding of what life is like for young LGBT people in the city.

Complete our short online survey to be entered into a prize draw for a chance to win £50 of CMK shopping vouchers.

http://www.survey.gabba.net/people_mk_survey
OR
http://tinyurl.com/YoungLGBT

PLEASE DOWNLOAD THIS POSTER AND DISPLAY IT IN APPROPRIATE PLACES TO HELP SPREAD THE WORD

Many organisations are interested in the LGBT community. Who is offering what? What is out there? How can you participate in what already exists?

The objective is to bring together all those who are interested in the LGBT community in the area and facilitate communication. If you are interested in the LGBT community or in finding out what there is; whether you are lesbian, gay, bi- or trans, or whether you are interested, concerned or related to someone who is, come and join us for the day.

The day will include presentations by over twenty organisations that are organising or offering services, events or activities to the LGBT community.

During the day, you will have the opportunity to circulate, listen to the presentations which you believe may be of interest to you, and meet people.

Of particular interest will be a debate with questions and answers between local parliamentary candidates from the three main national parties and a projection of Olivia Humphreys “Latecomers” about older people coming out.

For more information, please contact PeterJLeeson {at} hotmail(.)com

This meeting is provided free of charge to all participants, no financial assistance to the costs of the day can be provided to the groups making presentations. It is recommended that participants bring a packed lunch. Coffee and tea will be available on site; doughnuts will be on sale for £1.00 each. Contributions towards the cost of organising are welcome.

Public Transport:

Free Rainbow Bus to pickup participants from  The Point, CMK at 9:30am.

Public Transport: MK Metro bus 7A from City Centre to Dulverton Drive.

Over the next few weeks theres a wide range of events, including social opportunities, walking groups, HIV Quicktesting, pub nights, counselling, meals out, the LGBT General Assembly (which is going to be HUGE – click here for details), International Day Against Homophobia in Football and a fantastic event looking at the life of Alan Turing at Bletchley Park in honour of LGBT History Month – check the calendar for details. If you have, or know of, an event that should be listed here, please email us at website {at} qalliance.org(.)uk.

Please note that try to provide accurate listings, but always get in contact with the event organiser to double check. Not all social groups are listed on the calendar, for a full list of groups that we know of in the area click here. Unless otherwise noted, the events are not run by Q:alliance.

In addition to the events listed, Pink Punters, the local LGBT club, is open Thurs-Sun from 9pm. For more details on Pink Punters visit www.pinkpunters.com.

I attended a conference on 1st Dec to look at what’s out there for people living with HIV in Milton Keynes. We had an interesting presentation by a HIV support organisation from Leicester which showed us what a good service looks like and spent time looking at what our needs were to live happily with HIV in MK.

Over half the people at the event were living with HIV, there was only one local gay positive man – most of the others were African people and there were a small number of white heterosexual women too.

It felt exciting to be in a safe space where people could talk honestly about their HIV status – their lives and the way they (often) need to keep it secret to avoid social stigma.

It was clear that there were vastly different needs for the different groups (gay men will often need different messages and services to African women) and also different needs at different stages – a newly diagnosed person will need very different things to someone who’s been on therapy for 10 years.

I was struck by the lack of communication at strategic level between people interested in HIV prevention and those interested in care services. This needs changing.

I was also struck by the importance of communications and advertising – most positive people in MK are unaware of the services available to them – we all need to get better at telling people about whet we do.

I was pleased to learn that MK has some specialist services – but I really don’t blame the (many) gay men I know who choose to access stuff in London – they just have more experience and resources there.

So, where’s it all going? If you are living with HIV and would like to tell us what you think of current services in MK, please get in touch (we will not share your details with anyone) – Q:alliance can let you know who’s out there to help or even talk directly to commissioners on your behalf if you prefer.

In the meantime, watch this space for news of NEW outreach in MK’s popular cruising areas next year and regular visits to Pink Punters.

Current HIV services in MK include:

• STaSS – HIV support organiastion
• H4 – Counselling for people living with HIV
• HIV Quick Testing – Free and confidential testing

A date for your calendars. On Saturday January 30th, the LGBT General Assembly 2010 (North Buckinghamshire) will be held at the Ridgeway Community Centre in Milton Keynes (map link). The objective is to bring together all those who are interested in the LGBT community in the area.

Whether you organise events or activities, or are interested in attending them, this is the opportunity. The day will consist of:

• Brief presentations by the various organisations as to what they do and offer
• Discussion as to what people would like to see as events
• Discussion on what is the LGBT community itself
• Public viewing of Olivia Humphreys’ film “Late-Comers” about “older” people coming out.

Topics to be covered include support, healthcare, sports, social evenings and more.

Tell us what you do, tell us what you want.

To be kept informed or to mark your interest, please get in contact with Peter Leeson – PeterJLeeson {at} hotmail(.)com or 01908 501426.

In response to this, and the rise in the number of homophobic attacks in the UK and previous hate attacks, a vigil has been organised in Trafalgar Square for this Friday 30th October 2009, 8pm. If you are unable to make it to London, Pink Punters in Milton Keynes will be hosting a candle-lit vigil from 8.45pm – 9.15pm, observing the two minute silence from 9pm with a live video link from Rainbow at Trafalgar Square.

The London event is being organised by 17-24-30. Their aim for the vigil is to show the world that this anti-sociable behaviour is unacceptable.

For further details about the London event, join the group on Facebook.

17-24-30 have said, “It’s important that you join in, because this wasn’t just a homophobic attack. It was an attack on everyone’s right to walk through their city without fear of attack. This is about everyone, straight and gay.”

Please also help to publicise the event within any social network sites and groups you belong to and amongst your friends. The organisers have produced a NO TO HATE CRIME poster which you should feel free to use and distribute to everyone you know.

Pink Punters, Rainbow, Rainbow Village and Rainbow Crew are playing a major supporting role at this event expected to host some 10,000 people.

All venues and groups accross the UK are being asked to observe the two minute silence.

Courage MK

A Christian lesbian couple are exploring the possibilities of holding fellowship meetings in Milton Keynes for LGBT Christians.  The group would be for  LGBT Christians who are seeking a safe place of friendship in which to reconcile their faith and sexuality and grow towards Christian maturity as well as their partners and friends, parents and other family members. There would also be resources for churches and for LGBT people without a faith who are seeking answers to life’s questions.

The group will hold two initial monthly meetings as social events to meet LGBT Christians who would be interested in attending MK Courage. These meetings are to be held on Wednesday 4th November and Wednesday 2nd December 2009 in Milton Keynes. In addition, they will be holding a Sunday worship meeting on 22nd November 2009.

For further information on the time and venue, you can email Jane at info {at} just-church.org(.)uk.

Courage MK is affiliated to the national organisation Courage, an evangelical Christian organisation, founded in 1988. Further details of the national organisation can be found at www.courage.org.uk.

The Planet

Meets on the second Sunday of the month at The Stables Bar, The Bull Hotel, 64 High Street, Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes, MK11 1AQ From 7 -10.30pm. £3 admission on the door. For further information please email gezzigirl {at} aol(.)com, alternatively call or text on 07889 179596. The evening is all about meeting people, relaxing and listening to good music from Heartbeat Disco. There will be a licensed bar with the option of coffee, cocktails and non-alcoholic cocktails.

Vibe@The Springfield

A friendly, welcoming and relaxed LGBT social gathering based in Milton Keynes and serving MK and the surrounding areas and meeting every Wednesday from 8pm at The Springfield pub. They have a Facebook page here, or you can email vibemk {at} sky(.)com or call Bex on 07596 702160 for more information.

Please note that these groups are not run by Q:alliance, but we fully support them! A complete list of groups we know about, including The Gay Outdoor Club, The Lesbian Social Groups and the Secklow 100 group, can be found in our Information Section.

If you run a group, or know of a group, that would like to be listed on our site, email us at website {at} qalliance.org(.)uk. If you want some advice on how to set up and run a group you can email info {at} qalliance.org(.)uk.

A Day In Hand announces the second ever international same-sex hand holding (Sshh!) Saturday on October 31st 2009. On this day, same-sex couples and friends all over the world are encouraged to hold hands in public to support the visibility of Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans (LGBT) people. This is a revolutionary way of encouraging and inspiring LGBT people to take responsibility for their equality and live their lives without fear or restraint.

David Watkins, A Day In Founder was recently recognised by Gordon Brown, UK Prime Minister as an award winning activist in his field, with the Sheila Mckechnie Foundation

Watkins says, “Sshh! Saturdays aim to ultimately create safer spaces for LGBT people. The last Saturday of every month should become a day of support for LGBT people who want to show their commitment in public. Many years ago in the UK, LGBT people knew that the last carriage of every train would be populated by members of the queer community. Today, A Day In Hand wants people to feel the same sense of support in public spaces on the last Saturday of every month.” Sshh! Saturdays are easily organised wherever you are. They are not prides or rallies. It only requires 2 people of the same sex to hold hands to make a Sshh! Saturday. The images sent to yourstories {at} adayinhand(.)com will be spread throughout the world via our website .

Visibility of same-sex love is particularly important so that LGBT people become part of the cultural fabric of people’s lives. Watkins adds “Same-sex hand holding (Sshh!) is a silent revolution for LGBT people, because nothing needs to be said: no bold speeches, no reactive arguments, no war of words. Each LGBT person has the power to change the hearts and minds of people in their local community quietly, subtly, by simply holding hands publicly and owning their space. However, hand holding is a simple powerful gesture that can happen anywhere, at any time.” In areas of the world where it is impossible for LGBT to hold hands publicly, we call on people to send messages of support to our website on Sshh! Saturdays, and send in their photos of them holding hands, in public or private to us.

For more information about this briliant project, check out their website www.adayinhand.com.

Malcolm X

A round-up of what we’ve been posting on our Facebook and Twitter accounts this week…

• Black History Month ‘09 Profile – Malcolm X

• Vigil planned for gay man murdered in Trafalgar Square http://bit.ly/2IjyXb

• New radio drama about Alan Turing available on Saturday the 24th from The Independent – http://bit.ly/NEe0a

• Great blog from Lubin Odana about the Mail and their rules of writing about gays

• More than 22,000 complain to PCC over Stephen Gately piece – The Guardian

• On 6th November 2009, Pink Punters will mark Guy Fawkes/Bonfire Night (and help raise money for Q:alliance) with a new and unique celebration of how much the equality laws have improved – Gay Folks Night – 40 years after the Stonewall Riots – More info here

• Vibe@Springfield is a new, friendly and welcoming LGBT social night starting! Every Wednesday at 8pm in Springfield

• Equality and Human Rights Commission have launched the Trans Research Review

• Would you fight for your right to be offended? – You Tube video

• 5 lesbian and gay documentaries guaranteed to turn you into a gay activist – http://bit.ly/FB9fF

• 1 in 5 LGB people face homophobia in Britain – http://bit.ly/2YYE96

• Congrats to the Daily Mail for running this: http://bit.ly/1lRktS – Janet Street Porter disagrees with Jan Moir

• Life is never boring, but some people choose to be bored… boredom is a choice.

• Brighton man held in police custody over murder of Brighton trans woman – http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/8312977.stm

• Mental health can affect physical wellbeing, says Mind – http://bit.ly/2NIbZE

• Jan Moir is “the tip of an iceberg”: A history of Daily Mail homophobia – http://bit.ly/3TXm68

• Great article by Charlie Brooker on Jan Moir’s vile homophobic article in the Mail – http://bit.ly/1UJjef