Make your voice heard

SOUTHERN COMFORT
TREVOR SLATTERY

There always seems to be so much happening these days that gives you the opportunity to engage with and participate in your community.

Private Lives 2, an online survey of the health and wellbeing of GLBT Australians, will close on April 30. At the moment, numbers of participants in NSW are significantly down. In order to have the research findings more representative, it is important to have a sizable number of participants from across NSW.

Therefore, it would be great to actively promote and participate in this important research project. Your responses will help to create a picture of what the health and wellbeing of GLBT people across the country is actually like, which helps to advocate for and direct services that will be relevant to your community.

Please visit the link to take part in this important research: http://www.privatelivessurvey.org.au/

International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) is coming up quickly. Held on May 17, IDAHO offers people a chance to reach out to each other and raise awareness about the ongoing challenge that homophobia and transphobia present to us on a daily basis. There will be events happening all around the country to recognise this day.

Visit http://www.lgbthealth.org.au/IDAHO to find out what you can do in your area to participate.

If there are no events in your area, why not visit www.thisisoz.com.au to see how others have stood up and spoken out against homophobia for past IDAHOs? You could organise a local photo with a group or have your own say about what identity and homophobia mean to you.

Hope you had a great holiday break.

info: For more about groups, services or organisations in the Southern Region, contact ACON on 02 4226 1163 or email [email protected]

Trevor Slattery is the Education and Community Development Officer at ACON’s Illawarra Branch.