The Tea Dances
Some people are worried that there is a split growing...
Read MoreBridges
Bridges has conducted a survey and found that 23 out of the 25 young people questioned knew someone who had been bullied for being part of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community, and that 24 out of the 25 said there was no sex education advice given to LGBT young people during sexual education classes at school.
It was worrying results like these which encouraged Martyn David when he was setting up his Bridges project. He also wanted to try and change the negative images created in the press and news reports about LGBT, as well as the number of suicides related to the judgement that those in the LGBT community experience.
Bridges is a project that works with 13-17 year olds in the Rhondda Cynon Taf area of South Wales, and provides regular meet-ups offering support and education on LGBT issues. They organise presentations, raise awareness in the community, provide anti-bullying advice alongside the council, and even offer qualifications as part of the Open College Network.
Building Bridges, Breaking Boundaries
Before setting up the project Martyn had volunteered in youth work for two years, became a sub-editor for wicid.tv and started a magazine at his school which ended up spreading to 11 other schools. Working with and empowering young people is something that’s always been important to him.
Now that the project has started up, Martyn is hoping to hold more regular events through the summer months and to start joining up with similar projects in other counties.
Find out more by visiting the Bridges Facebook Page, or keep updated on the Bridges blog.
Martyn said, “My Development Manager has been great. She’s always been there. When I’ve needed help with things she’s spent hours going through everything to help me.”
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