LINC: PROUD TO BE … BY CIARA MULCAHY ( LINC COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER)
We also held a 6 week personal development course with the intention of instilling confidence and pride in all who participated. The personal development programme invited participants to navigate the obstacles and challenges in their lives and work towards improving areas of discomfort or unease in a supported environment. Both of these programmes will run again in the near future so stay tuned to LINC social media, the LINC newsletter or the LINC staff – if that’s where you get your LINC info! As well as all of this, individual and targeted supports for our community members is also available. If you’ve indulged ideas of continuing or starting education, taking the next step towards the career of your dreams or even just wanted to reassess your options and goals, now is a great time to touch base with Laura – laura@linc.ie LINC in conjunction with Dublin Lesbian Line, BeLonGTo and LGBT Ireland, launched the first LBQ sexual health and wellbeing conference in Ireland! Q-con took to the stage in September and boasted sold out seats (in our Zoom stadium!), incredible conversations and powerful connections. The week of events was beautiful, inclusive, powerful and necessary! So much so that plans for Q-Con 2 are already taking root. During this week our gorgeous community of lesbian, bi, queer, trans, non-binary and intersex folk with various experiences of race, dis/ability, class identity, gender and sexuality were heard, acknowledged and celebrated. We look forward to the empowerment, knowledge and connection that promises to be Q-con 2 coming in 2023. Aside from the big projects and publications, the core of LINC remains the same – our community! Our groups have been gathering this year in a number of ways and here’s some of what’s on the programme: LINC Drama are back meeting and creating in person and the gang is busy building a fantastic show for early 2023. Our book club is back meeting in person and LINC After Dark, our online peer support group meets each Thursday on Zoom. The monthly Menopause Café hosts women from the community experiencing peri menopause and menopause, holding space for advice, knowledge sharing, information, resources and companionship.
We also host a 12 Step Recovery Group each Wednesday night. LINC Rebels – our soccer team welcomes all abilities and ages and our regular yoga courses offer beginner friendly practice online. LINC Together, our monthly online peer support meeting kicked off this month. This group is dedicated to holding space for practical and emotional guidance and support with other members of the LBQ community, where sharing experiences regarding coming out, navigating identity and connecting with community is promoted and celebrated. This group will take place over zoom on the second Thursday of every month. Our approach this year is blended in an attempt to be as inclusive and accessible as possible, taking the lessons learned during the pandemic while also gathering back together to experience the full warmth of our community. With a newly rejuvenated outdoor space and our staff team back in the centre full time, we’re ready to welcome you all back and look forward to a fantastic year ahead. We’ve all come through massive changes since last year’s Cork Pride celebrations and after an innovative and adapted festival last year, the community as a whole can celebrate in person and together. Have a happy and safe Cork Pride from all of us at LINC. To avail of any of the services listed in this article or to find out more about what’s happening, get in touch via info@linc.ie.
Lots has been happening in LINC HQ since last year’s Pride Magazine so we’d like to invite you to grab a coffee (or a cold beverage of your choice) and settle in with us while we give you the grand tour of LINC activities these last 12 months. First stop - Sexual Health for LBQ women; a collaborative effort between The Sexual Health Centre, LINC and The HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme. This resource in in print, online and accessible via pocket friendly QR code card. Included in the resource are topics such as pleasure, consent, sexual relationships, STIs, diverse bodies, what healthy/unhealthy relationships look like, menopause and intimate partner violence. This, however, is not an exhaustive list and we encourage anyone for whom this information is relevant to go check it out.
This leads us nicely to the next project worth mentioning – the cervical screening report. This was another collaborative effort between LINC and The National Screening Service. The report examined the experience of lesbian and bi women, intersex, non-binary and trans people with a cervix of cervical screening in Ireland. The findings from the report have encouraged a series of changes in how the screening programme operates in relation to LGBTI+ patients with exciting progress being made in terms of inclusivity and relevance. We could not recap our year without discussing our shining, animated star project: Esther Explains! This year, during Stand-up Awareness week we launched a three-part animated series featuring our very own Esther (if you’re not familiar, Esther is our Community Liaison worker, drop-in and say hello to the inspiration and voice behind the queerly beloved sapphic educator!). ‘Esther Explains’ touches on different elements of and challenges within the community including homophobia, being nonbinary and trans identities. The animations allow teachers of second level students engage with LGBTI+ awareness in an accessible and entertaining way. The animations also come with a teachers manual, guiding educators on conversations that might arise in the classroom and other supporting material and resources. If you haven’t watched these beautiful shorts or if you know someone who would benefit from them, then animations and the teacher’s handbook is available at LINC.ie. If we hadn’t already been excited, 2021/22 gave us another reason to be absolutely buzzing! WorkLINC, funded through Rethink Ireland’s Equality Fund launched just after Pride last year with our new Education and Training officer (Laura) taking off with an array of supports and inspirations for those in the community looking to invite educational/ employment opportunities into their lives. WorkLINC has, since the end f 2021, hosted two sessions of Queer Seomra, our 8 week community education programme covering everything from queer women revolutionaries to intersectionalit and activism.
www.corkpride.com
#CorkPride2022
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