At Sussex Partnership, we want everyone to feel valued and aim to create ways to celebrate our differences and share stories from all our different paths in life. To do this, we aim to work with our staff networks and Diversity teams to create events and workshops for members to come together, learn, and share ideas and experiences.
On February 7th, members and allies of the Time Out LGBTQI+ network joined in Brighton at the Queery's library for a day of crafting and mapping out the networks' plans for the year. The team took root in the bookshop and hosted various activities, ranging from a Clay Wild pottery workshop to a Portrait workshop hosted by the lovely Lucy Wells, Service Lead for Arts&Health. The network also used the café at the library as a place for members and allies to have a less messy place to hang out/chat/take a bit of time away from the main group. But what if you couldn't get away from work to join them? The team also hosted a Teams meeting for anyone to virtually join the group for a chat and lunch, meaning they could still be involved.
Following this, our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) team will be hitting the road to travel around our Trust in February to encourage and promote discussion of disability in the workforce. Starting on February 9th, members from the network will begin at our head office in Swandean before travelling to our Meadowfield, New Park House, Mill View, St Anne's Centre and Langley Green sites throughout the month. While at our sites, they will be showing a preview of a video aiming to improve disability declaration rates on our Electronic Staff Record. The EDI team will also be available to discuss the staff networks, reasonable workplace adjustments, the SPFT Health Passport and Freedom to Speak Up. A member of our Health and Wellbeing team will also join them, who will be handing out our Cost of Living fact sheets and signposting financial support and advice.
To find out more about how we create an environment as diverse as the users we treat, click here