Film breaks down barriers to LGBT inclusion in Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale

The Lesbian & Gay Foundation (The LGF) has created a short film

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The Lesbian & Gay Foundation (The LGF) has created a short film to raise awareness of their work, support and services for the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans) community across the borough.

There are a number of people from the LGBT community who, from time to time, may need help and support dealing with issues such as hate crime, antisocial behaviour, mental health, sexual health and general wellbeing.

Unlike Manchester’s Gay Village, there are no facilities in Rochdale where LGBT people can meet and socialise. This means people either have to travel outside of the borough to meet and make new friends or they are faced with feeling isolated and not part of the community.

This makes it particularly difficult for the LGBT community to seek help and support when they may need it the most.

Adrian Palmer, The LGF’s LGBT Community Development Worker for Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale, features in the film which looks at the support available to the community and the relationships that have been formed with local health providers and others.

The LGF’s work in Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale was established following the findings from their Part of the Picture research, which was carried out in partnership with The University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN). Research found there were significantly higher numbers of LGBT people with addictions to drugs and alcohol. Furthermore, in the LGF’s 'I Exist' survey of LGBT people in Greater Manchester re, it revealed the startling prevalence of poor mental health amongst LGBT people including self-harm and suicidal thoughts.

The LGF would like to thank Rochdale Borough Council and the Cohesion Hub Team as well as other partner agencies who helped support the creation of this short film.