It’s been brilliant to attend some of the amazing Pride events around Sussex. We kicked off Pride Season at Chichester Pride on May 25th. where some of our staff and volunteers ran a stall advertising the support we offer. They loved meeting attendees and asking what pride means to them. They had a range of responses, including “community connection”, “protest”, “belonging”, and “being yourself”. Switchboard supports LGBTQ+ people across our region all year round, so Chichester Pride was a wonderful opportunity to connect with LGBTQ+ people in West Sussex.
Our team also attended the fabulous Brighton Bear Weekend, on July 13th. Chris and Reuben from the team kept the Switchboard stall running at Brighton Bear Weekend’s Garden Party, spent time meeting other organisations and gave our congratulations to Fran, the 2024 Brighton Bear Winner.
At a time when trans rights are coming under attack, Trans Pride Brighton 2024 was an important opportunity to both celebrate trans joy and stand up for the rights of our trans, non-binary and intersex community members. It is heartening to see Trans Pride have its biggest turn out this year so far, with over 40,000 people marching in support of trans rights. Our team came together to help run our stall in the Trans Pride community area.
Paul Hook, Switchboard CEO, said: “What an amazing day! Trans Pride really delivered this year, with a wonderful atmosphere on the march and in the park, and more people turning out than ever before to voice their support for trans rights. The Switchboard stall was packed all day, with so many friends old and new coming to talk to us about our work and the services we provide to our community.”
Eastbourne Pride 2024‘s parade was also their largest to date, which was fantastic to see. Team members Chris and Jane enjoyed chatting with attendees about the support we offer for the LGBTQ+ community at Switchboard’s stall in Princes Park. It was lovely to meet people new to Switchboard, and speak with those who receive support from us too.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by at any of the community stalls we have run at Pride Events so far this Pride Season. Brighton Pride 2024 is just around the corner, and we hope to see even more friendly faces there too!