Who are the Pride Youth Partnership?
Pride Youth Partnership is a network of organisations that aim to improve support and inclusion for LGBTQIA+ Young People living in the North East and North Cumbria (NENC), to improve mental health outcomes and address health inequalities facing this community.
The VCSE Partnership Programme has partnered with the network to ensure that the voices of the LGBTQIA+ community are fed into the Integrated Care System. The focus of this currently is on LGTBQIA+ young people, however, this may broaden to include adults in the future. 
Roundup of the conference
The network hosted a conference in March to spotlight the challenges faced by gender diverse young people in our region. In the room were colleagues from health and social care, VCSE and education sectors.
To put these challenges in the context, the conference began with a talk from ReportOut about the global picture and the rollback of rights in many countries across the world. LBGT Foundation then provided a more localised picture using census data in the NENC region to give context as to where our LGBTQIA+ population are concentrated.
The conference then included presentations drawing attention to inequalities faced by LGBTQIA+ communities, including health inequalities, minority stress and physical activity insecurity to highlight a few. We also heard powerful stories from people sharing their lived experience of navigating health systems and the impact that this has had on their mental health.
In the afternoon, we were involved in a Theatre of the Oppressed performance, where we watched a play focusing on the story of ‘Leigh’, a young person who is repeatedly misgendered, faces barriers accessing health services and challenges at school, and included the experience of his Mum and her experiences in navigating the systems as a parent. This was followed by a dynamic conversation on the barriers in accessing services and what could be done better, using the example of Leigh to prompt this.
The conference was rounded up with group discussions on what actions can be taken to address some of the barriers to accessing services. These challenges and next steps are summarised in the next sections.
Key challenges highlighted in talks and discussions
The conference provided a forum to discuss some of the key health inequalities and barriers to accessing services. These were some of the challenges highlighted over the course of the day:
- NHS structures can be heteronormative meaning that providers lack the knowledge and training to meet the needs of these trans patients
- Barriers to accessing pregnancy services and cervical screenings for trans men were highlighted due to systems failing to flag that these are needed, and a lack of trust in the health care providers to provide appropriate care
- Waiting lists at the gender dysphoria clinic are long and there is a lack of support whilst patients are waiting to access these services
- There is a mental health crisis amongst trans people with startling rates of attempted suicide, largely due to the waiting times for care
These are just some of the challenges that were highlighted at the conference, but many more could be added to this list.
Actions to change policy and improve the health outcomes of LGBTQIA+ people
- Training for primary care staff on how to support their trans patients, making sure that it is interactive rather than e-learning
- Using the preferred name and pronouns of the individual and updating this on systems or adding a note where systems don’t allow it to be changed
- Improving communication between services and joining up care
- Showing allyship where possible, for example wearing a Pride pin badge or lanyard. This can build trust between patients and health care providers.
Next steps
This conference is the starting point for the Pride Youth Partnership’s work to raise the voices of LGBTQIA+ young people and influence decision makers to address some of the challenges highlighted in this blog. The VCSE Partnership Programme will continue to support the network and share any relevant updates with our Health and Wellbeing Network.
The network meets online monthly, and if you would like to sign up, you can find the link to the contact email address on our sign-up page.
A digital storytelling booklet and zine was also shared which showcases the voices of LGBTQIA+ young people. This was developed as part of a project between Pride Action North, PLUS Group and Amy Langdown. You can access the zine here.