I have been remiss in not posting dates of current meetings! Our next meeting is on Tuesday May 16th 2017 at 7.15pm and the following two meetings will be on Tuesday June 6th at 7.15pm and July 4th. Gendered Intelligence are providing us with a speaker to aid our discussions on June 6th, which should be good. July 4th is our AGM, but it will be short and there will be plenty of time for parents to share concerns as usual. We have an exciting pilot project taking place in June on various dates (Time2B Me) which is to provide a creative series of workshops in an open, non-judgmental atmosphere for youngsters questioning their gender, and if necessary to provide support for their families. This project is funded by the Allen Lane Foundation and led by TC Peppercorn Director of Make/Do Creative.
The group is growing every time we meet, so we are now properly constituted, with a secretary, a treasurer and tech support. Our patron is the Mayor of Redditch! Our next meeting is on Tuesday September 13th at 7.15pm.
We shall meet again on Tuesday March 8th where a welcome is extended to all parents who have recently heard that their child has come out as gay, lesbian, bisexual or Trans, and require the support of others whose children, of whatever age, have said likewise.
The Newroad Group had a stall on the opening night February 2nd with our display board and booklets from FFLAG. There were 100 people present at the event and we had some ‘new’ parents whose children had come out to them recently, who came to see us. The event was opened by the Manager of Artrix and other stalls were Worcestershire NHS Health and Care Trust, the Gender Trust, Rainbow Voices and Pink Sou’westers. Also present were West Mercia Police and the North Worcestershire Police LGBT Hate Crime Forum.
Our stall will also be in Redditch in the afternoon of Friday March 4th at the Palace Theatre.
We had an excellent meeting to finish off 2015 when Jane Chaplin of ‘Healthwatch Telford and Wrekin’ spoke to us about Trans issues.
Our next meeting will be on Tuesday January 26th, 7.15pm as usual in Bromsgrove. Parents will share concerns and joys in theirjourneys towards acceptance of their LGBT children. We will also be planning our ‘stall’ for LGBT History Month in Bromsgrove and Redditch. This begins on Tuesday February 2nd with a celebratory family-friendly evening for voluntary and statutory groups at the Artrix, and with a free showing of the film ‘ Pride’. We look forward to meeting ‘new’ parents there, and at our meeting of course.
Our next meeting is planned for Tuesday December 1st, 7.15pm and we have Jane coming to speak to us about Trans issues. I have already heard her speak to the Birmingham Parents Support Group in November and can recommend her. Many parents are afffected by this issue.
Some of us have been watching all the recent TV programmes about Trans people, including ‘ My Transgender Kids’ on 6th October, and learning a lot.
Did anyone read the cookery writer, Jack Monroe’s response to criticisms on social media, of her/him accepting a ‘woman of the future’ award? S/he wrote an excellent piece in the Guardian, saying it was ‘time to dismantle the gender constructs’. They say they dont want to slot into a male/female box.
The group met on June 30th, August 18th and October 6th, including several parents of Trans children.
This month I am very excited to have published my first foray into fiction (based on various true stories) about a mother’s journey to accept her children after they came out. Feedback so far has been excellent. Please contact me directly or go to Amazon for a copy.
There were lots of events in and around Bromsgrove and Redditch this month to celebrate for Worcestershire! See my Blog for displays at Artrix arts centre on February 5th, Heart of Worcestershire College on February 27th and Redditch Library on February 28th. North Bromsgrove High School had a theatre production from Midnight Theatre Company which tackled issues of coming out and bullying and the LGB&T Police Hate Crime Forum had an Open meeting on February 17th
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