Midlands hospices join forces for Birmingham Pride to promote care for all

Hospices from across the Midlands are joining forces for this year’s Birmingham Pride to promote the message ‘hospice care is for all’.

Teams from seven hospices will come together to host a float in the parade on Saturday 25 May – aiming to raise awareness of hospice services among the LGBT community.

Taking part are Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice in Birmingham, St Richard’s Hospice in Worcester, St Giles Hospice in Lichfield, Mary Stevens Hospice in Stourbridge, Wolverhampton’s Compton Care, John Taylor Hospice in Birmingham, and the West Midlands branch of Marie Curie.

Sharon Hudson, who is community development and partnerships lead at Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice, said: “Although the UK has made great progress towards equality for LGBT people, it’s saddening to hear that research still shows that for some people, there are significant barriers when trying to access vital palliative care. There are a number of reasons for this but for many people who grew up in a time when being LGBT carried a heavy stigma, accessing health and social care can be particularly daunting.

“All of the hospices taking part in Birmingham Pride this year are dedicated to widening the reach and access of their care for the LGBT community. That’s why we wanted to join in with the ‘Love Out Loud’ celebrations ta Pride this year and show that as hospices, we are committed to providing bespoke, person-centred care that meets individual needs.”

Each hospice is a member of the Community Engagement Network, which shares best practice on community outreach and development to widen access to hospice care.

The seven charities were inspired by the London Hospices’ LGBT network and identified Birmingham Pride as an opportunity to engage with members of the LGBT community.

Dozens of hospice staff and volunteers will be on board and walking alongside the decorated float to promote individual hospices and hand out collective resources to the public. The parade begins at Victoria Square at 12pm.

The hospice group will be tweeting using the hashtag #HospicePride. Follow the hospices on Twitter for updates along the way including photos of the decorated float.