For many in our communities, the holiday season can be a stressful one, with anxiety, frustration and insecurity to navigate. On this episode of The Informer we look at some of the support networks that exist and how to reach out for help best the festive season.

Richard Keane from Living Positive Victoria discusses how they help people living with HIV over the holiday period and discusses disclosing your status to your family over the holidays

For many in our communities, the holiday season can be a stressful one, with anxiety, frustration and insecurity to navigate. On this episode of The Informer we look at some of the support networks that exist and how to reach out for help best the festive season.

Ruby and Ian speak to Yvonne Gardiner, the founder of Positive Attitude, who runs monthly luncheons for people living with HIV, including one on Christmas day.

For many in our communities, the holiday season can be a stressful one, with anxiety, frustration and insecurity to navigate. On this episode of The Informer we look at some of the support networks that exist and how to reach out for help best the festive season.

 

Max Mclean from Mind Australia who has some holiday tips for LGTBI people.

If you are dealing with difficult families, relations and relationships or social isolation and loneliness at this time of year, remember that you are not alone and that it is important to reach out.

Many festivals filled with LGBTI celebration and culture began years ago as protest marches fighting for equality.

In this segment  of the Informer, we speak to the Midsumma and Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festivals and ask them how our queer festivals are changing with our ever evolving LGBTI narrative?

Christmas has come early for seven LGBTIQ community groups, who will share in $65,000 of funding announced today by Aurora, Alison King speaks to The Informer about this years recipients.

In 2018, Aurora is delighted to be supporting:

* The Women and Girls Emergency Centre – to develop new support services for LBQ women experiencing violence across wider Sydney.

* Bolton Clarke aged care services – to research and develop a handbook for NSW aged care services on providing best practice care to LGBTIQ people.

* Bellingen Neighbourhood Centre – to deliver a series of community forums and events aimed at bridging the gap between the younger and older LGBTIQ communities across their region.

* Outstanding LGBTIQ Short Story Competition – to develop an e-book of winning LGBTIQ Short Stories and run a new mini-story competition during the 2018 Mardi Gras Festival.

* Dress for Success Sydney – to purchase appropriate clothing and to develop initial transgender Dress for Success workshops – helping transgender women into the workforce with confidence.

* Northcott Innovations – for the collaborative development of disability and sexuality programming for the LGBTIQ community, driven by community members themselves.

Aurora will also continue giving special assistance to its key funding partner – Twenty10, incorporating the NSW Gay and Lesbian Counselling Service (GLSC), to deliver services and support to young people across central and western Sydney.

 

Better Together 2018 is a two-day national conference to be held at the Melbourne Town Hall in Victoria, Australia from 12 to 13 January 2018.

The conference will explore current issues facing the LGBTIQ movement, bringing together voices from women’s rights, indigenous rights, disability, the Deaf community, and multicultural and faith groups.

Jason Tuazon-McCheyne joins The Informer team to discuss the conference schedule and events.

19 venues were nominated for Best Venue for The Melbourne Drag Awards earlier this week, but as we end 2017, not all those venues are still running. On this segment of The Informer we speak to nominees Piano Bar Geelong & Vau d’vile Drag Cabaret Restaurant about what it’s like creating spaces for our communities, and how they keep them relevant and inclusive.

We look at JOY during 2017 and speak to the team members behind the scenes that help keep JOY Out, Loud, and Proud.

 

JOY started its 24th year in January officially changing its community of interest to involve every part of our rainbow family.  JOY CEO Tennille Moisell joins us discusses the change in culture and direction for the station this year.

Over 320 volunteers have worked together to create over 6,552 hours of broadcasting which has helped us to achieve our highest listenership ever 377,000 listeners.

In this segment of The Informer we look at JOY during 2017 and speak to the team members behind the scenes that help keep JOY Out, Loud, and Proud.

Our radiothon for 2017 was our biggest and most successful yet with over $300,000 raised. That’s over 50% of JOYs revenue coming from Radiothon and we continue our conversation with JOY CEO Tennille Moisell about keeping JOY out and proud on the airwaves during radiothon, with JOY presenters sharing why ‘We Still Need JOY’.

In the lead up to and after the postal survey, JOY fully supported the YES vote on and off the airwaves and created a space for our communities to express how they were feeling and processing through this difficult time, CEO Tennille Moisell shares with us why it was important that JOY was more than just a voice for the communities but a safe space for them as well.

 

During the YES Campaign JOY rebranded to YES94.9 with more than 1000 hours of YES content produced and broadcast across the Community Radio Network, it was a great space to hear from the diverse voices in our communities celebrating our 61.6% YES result. Shaping that voice on our airwaves was our program manager Chris Tait who continues his reflection on JOY during 2017.