For us at Blend, Pride Month is about celebrating every young person’s right to feel safe, valued and accepted. It is an opportunity to celebrate diversity and stand alongside the LGBTQ+ community, while continuing to build an environment where everyone can be themselves and know they belong.
For many young people, having somewhere they can be themselves without fear of judgement is incredibly important. While Pride Month is a celebration, it also reminds us that many LGBTQ+ people continue to experience discrimination, bullying and exclusion. It encourages us all to play our part in creating communities where everyone is treated with dignity, equality and respect.
At Blend, inclusion is part of everything we do. We provide welcoming, non-judgemental spaces where young people are free to express themselves, build friendships, grow in confidence and know that they are valued for who they are. We want every young person we meet to feel safe, heard, valued and included.
This commitment remains as important as ever. Recent *research shows that 42% of LGBT+ school pupils have been bullied in the past year, compared with 21% of their non-LGBT+ peers. It also reports that half of LGBT+ pupils hear homophobic language “frequently” or “often” at school. These figures remind us that, although progress has been made, many young people still face barriers simply because of who they are. They reinforce why creating safe, supportive and inclusive spaces for all young people continues to be so important.
Throughout Pride Month, our teams and young people will be celebrating in lots of creative ways. From decorating our Blend Youth Hubs and making colourful displays to taking part in activities that celebrate diversity and inclusion, we’ll be celebrating what makes each of us unique while strengthening the sense of community that makes Blend so special.
These activities are about much more than having fun. They create opportunities for conversations about kindness, respect and acceptance, helping young people to understand the importance of supporting one another and celebrating the diversity that makes our communities stronger.
We believe that every person is uniquely valuable, deserving of dignity, compassion and respect. We are committed to challenging discrimination, celebrating diversity and creating communities where everyone can thrive.
As civil rights leader Maya Angelou beautifully said, “We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter their colour.” We believe this is true for every young person who comes to Blend.
We are proud to celebrate Pride Month alongside our young people and to continue building a community where everyone is welcomed, supported and encouraged to be themselves. Together, we can help create a future where every young person feels safe, included and proud of who they are.
*Statistics source: Stonewall, LGBTQ+ Facts and Figures (Education).
