Thorne Harbour Country is a part of Thorne Harbour Health. Photo: Thorne Harbour Health/Facebook
In a wonderful new initiative, Thorne Harbour Country is working in collaboration with Bendigo Library and launching LGBTI Q Time to help answer questions about sexual and gender identity.
The aim is to create a safe space to allow community members to freely ask questions related to gender identity and sexual orientation. It’ll be starting this Monday and will be held on the first Monday of every month.
Thorne Harbour Country will have a staff member at Bendigo Library ready to answer these questions from 10 am until 12 pm.
The hope is that creating this safe space at a public location will encourage people to drop in and learn more about the LGBTQI+ community, become better allies and ask questions they don’t feel comfortable asking in other spaces.
Thorne Harbour Country is a part of Thorne Harbour Health, previously known as the Victorian AIDS Council. This initiative is something that Thorne Harbour Health Acting CEO Carolyn Gillespie is very pleased about.
“It is fantastic to see a number of LGBTIQ+ pride festivals underway across regional and rural Victoria, but some people may be hesitant to engage with LGBTIQ+ community pride events or come to see us at our location on Mundy Street,” she said.
“This could be due to previous experiences of discrimination, apprehension about ‘coming out’, or simply being intimidated by all the excitement.”
This sentiment is shared by Thorne Harbour Country Program Manager, Damien Stevens-Todd who believes creating an inclusive space is important.
“We’re partnering with Bendigo Library to create a welcoming and safe opportunity for anyone in the community to ask questions, access resources, and discuss their experiences – regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation,” he said.
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