We asked a number of our partners to speak about partnerships, our community and Gay Surrey
Mick Day - Head of Diversity Directorate, Surrey Police
Surrey's policing style is known as Neighbourhood Policing. This puts to the fore working closely with partner agencies, the voluntary sector and communities. The Neighbourhood Policing style also recognises that it is not only police who can impact on keeping communities safe and feeling safe. Partnership working is a key element of achieving that aim. Our four key priorities are Customer Service, Control of Crime, Confident Communities and Capable, Supported Staff.
Last year we became very aware that the lesbian and gay community in Surrey were not confident in our policing. Along with others our partnership working with Gay Surrey has helped us to identify key areas where we need to improve our service such as the introduction of Lesbian and Gay Liaison Officers (LAGLO's). I look forward to continuing our work with Gay Surrey and developing our Force action plan on Gay and lesbian issues. Our newly introduced but regular meetings with the Trustees of Gay Surrey have been both informative and helpful. There are undoubtedly challenges ahead but working in partnership I believe that we will be in a posiition to tackle these challenges and make Surrey a safer environment for the gay community. Together we can make a difference.
Ian Cole - NHS, Development Worker for Gay Men
Working in Public Health the ethos is about empowering people to make the healthy lifestyle choices, which will improve their quality of life. One of the ways of achieving this, is by partnership working. As a Development Worker for Gay men I realise the importance of working with the gay community. Making links with those resources that already exist are important. The Gay Surrey website has played a very valuable part in attaining this goal. In this day of the internet and way that we use it, it is the fastest medium for finding the information that we require, and anonymously. If we take something like the National Gay Men's survey which happens annually, with this survey distributed manually we averaged 30 returns a year for this area, working with Gay Surrey last year we managed 128.The married men's group that I facilitate can attribute its success, by the fact that most of those attending had done so after reading about it on the Gay Surrey Website. So working together in partnership is paramount to hear the needs of the Gay community in Surrey.
Ellena Phelps - Community Safety Co-ordinator, Elmbridge Borough Council
At Elmbridge Borough Council we have achieved Level 1 of the Equality Standard and are striving to reach Level 2. This will help us to ensure that the services we provide meet the needs of our local communities.
One of the visions of Elmbridge Borough Council is to develop a thriving and inclusive borough promoting equality, challenging discrimination and tackling social exclusion. As part of this vision, the Borough Council has recently produced a Hate Crime policy statement and had introduced reporting procedures, in consultation with Gay Surrey, to ensure that any members of staff who witness or personally experience any kind of hate crime, including hate crime on the grounds of sexuality have the confidence to report it.
The Council are working towards introducing a series of briefing sessions for all staff to raise awareness of hate crime and to help members of staff recognise the, often subtle, signs that may indicate hate crime is taking place.
Sacha Rose- Equality and Diversity Manager, RAISE
RAISE enables voluntary/community organisations in the South East to influence regional policy, wherever it is made or implemented, for the benefit of the people they serve.
One of RAISE's main policy areas is that of social inclusion; within this we have set up a region wide equality and diversity advisory group which comprises of the voluntary/community sector (VCS) and the statutory sector. As an infrastructure organisation we are keen to support all aspects of the VCS; particularly organisations that work with communities that face discrimination. We have chosen Gay Surrey to be one of the partners of the advisory group on a regional level. We acknowledge the commitment that Gay Surrey shows to improving and empowering the choices and opportunities for the Gay Community. The advisory group's priority will be to work at a strategic policy level with regional partners from the voluntary and statutory sector, to ensure that equality becomes an intrinsic part of the region's strategic agenda and that the needs of diverse communities at local level and regional level are addressed.
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