Introduction

This Summer, Bristol, Brighton, London and other cities celebrated diversity and the LGBTQ+ community during Pride festivals. Supporting the LGBTQ+ community, is something that we are very passionate about and is close to us as an organisation.

Transgender issues in social care can add an extra challenge to social care providers and those experiencing care. A recent report, said that ‘social worker training on transgender issues is largely deficient’. This is something we think needs addressing. We recently supported a transgender client in their journey to independence. Here we explain her journey from first meeting us, to the issues she faces, and the progress she has made.

How it started

Carly Smith, a care co-ordinator here, has overseen the entire process, and has been responsible for first connecting with the client, finding her the right housing, and helping her get to where she is today.

Here Carly explains

“When I first met her, she was extremely reserved, shy, and massively lacked confidence. My initial thoughts when I was told she was transgender were no different to when I take on any other client. My only real concern about it was that housing her would have to be carefully selected, due to what she had asked for and finding a house she was comfortable in and with people with more of an understanding to what an individual is and why everyone is different, but also people that would accept her for who she is. On initial meeting of her, she informed me that she has always been told she wasn’t normal.

Finding the right home

When we first started working with Diane*, she viewed two houses with us. She had the opportunity to meet and choose the co-ordinators and seniors she would be working with.  Diane also met the tenants living in each house. We offered her the options of an all-male house, and an all-female house. The choice she made was to go to the all-male house, which was where Carly, the co-ordinator she chose, would oversee her journey. Diane liked the house, the tenants and Carly, who made her “feel normal” and the same as any other person. This is something she has struggled with throughout her life, always being told she wasn’t normal, to the extent that she believed it, gradually losing all of her confidence and she began to lose who she really was. We felt that this was heart breaking to see, as she had so much potential - an individual with exceptional beliefs and talents.

Carly recalls: “once she had moved into the house, the other tenants accepted her for who she was, and encouraged her to join in with them in any house activities they participate in, such as meal times, or watching TV. Diane took her time to settle, and spent a lot of time in her room, hidden away from the outside world. One of the residents in the house, would regularly knock on her door and offer his assistance with anything. This was great to see as it showed how they had naturally accepted her into their home and wanted her to join them in what they do on a day to day basis”.

Building confidence and embracing yourself

Carly: “her main support worker, has been fantastic with her. He and I have brought her on leaps and bounds from when she joined us and you can see in herself just how far she has come. When she joined us, she wouldn’t leave the house without wearing hats or hoods, and would always dress in dark colours, since then we have always encouraged her to embrace being herself, and to never hide who she really is. Now she will wear anything with confidence, and it’s a delight for us to see!”

How far she’s come

During a recent care plan review, Diane was asked how she felt she had progressed. She stated she had made massive progress, and after consultation with the social worker, he suggested to reduce her support hours. The social worker was over the moon with the progress she had made. Her confidence was growing more and more each day. She confirmed that she feels a lot more confident, through the positive relationships she has built with her staff team. She can now open up about her feelings in confidence and no longer feels constantly judged.

You can check out what we did to celebrate Pride over on our twitter account: @manorcommunity - https://twitter.com/ManorCommunity

Useful links

Bristol hate crime and discrimination services: https://www.bhcds.org.uk/

Bristol Pride: http://bristolpride.co.uk/

*Diane is not her real name