The Healthwatch Cumberland team had a fantastic time at Whitehaven Pride on Sunday 30th August, and were very excited to be sharing our Trans Voices work at the event.
As always, Whitehaven Pride was full of fun, energy and lots of bright colours, despite the grey and rainy weather.
The event marked a great opportunity for two of our new sessional workers, Andrea and Claire, to get involved with engagement activities. We asked them what they thought about the day:
“Whitehaven Pride by the historic harbour on a sunny morning on the August Bank Holiday weekend was a wonderful start to my sessional worker role. The four of us were kept busy with a steady stream of passers-by.”
We talked to people on their own, couples and families to spread the word about Healthwatch and the recent Trans Voices and Youth Mental Health project. The event is very well organized and having the stalls spaced out meant people were happy to stay and chat - especially when the rain started in the afternoon! My favourite part was the parade, especially the drummers!”
-Claire, Sessional Worker.
“We had a fun filled day meeting a range of people in good spirits, enjoying the carnival atmosphere. The exhilarating energy, as Drum Nation’s strong beats wove their way past our Healthwatch stand, was a great sight.”
“A highlight for me was meeting a local woman, known to her friends as ‘Miss Marple’, and husband. They gave us lots of motivational quotes and laughs and were interested in the upcoming NHS digital training. (Our Digital Health event on 2nd September)”
“Pride was a great first event as a sessional worker and I’m looking forward to doing more.”
-Andrea, Sessional Worker.
Healthwatch Cumberland’s Trans Voices project conclude earlier this year, with the release of our full report in July. The team decided Whitehaven Pride was a great opportunity to share the findings of our project with local people.
“Pride was the perfect opportunity to share our Trans Voices comic and report, as well as some leaflets and information for members of the public. We handed out lots of comics and are hoping for as many people as possible to read and appreciate this project.”
-Suzannah, Trans Voices Co-Project Lead
The team handed out leaflets with information about how to be a better support person, or ally, to trans and gender diverse people, alongside sharing copies of our report which could be read at our stand, or downloaded online.
We also wanted to find out what people thought about our work, and if they had any personal experiences they wanted to share with us.
“I love doing engagement events as it’s a chance to hear in-person what people really think about services and their experiences. We asked people about their thoughts on local services and also got lots of feedback about what topics people want us to look at in the future.”
Healthwatch Cumberland would like to say a big thank you to those who visited our stall at Pride and to everyone involved in our Trans Voices project.
Are you interested in making a difference in your local community?
We are looking for West Cumbria based Volunteers and Sessional Workers.
For more information on our Sessional Worker position, visit our Sessional Worker role page.
You can also email: [email protected]
Or call: 0300 303 8567.