Problem
The heart of the work of Bfriend is to support men and women, of all ages, who are questioning their sexuality or gender identity. That is done primarily through linking them up with trained volunteers who are same sex attracted or transgender people themselves. We try to offer a safe space for people to make more sense of who they are and what their understandings are about their identity and sexuality in these early days of making sense of what it means to be same sex attracted or trans.
People talk about the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) community, or the queer community, as if it's a single entity and it's not. How I think of it is many communities and individuals within a broader thing that's called the GLBT community. For me, what characterises my community is a sense of belonging and connection. It means that by finding a place to belong, we have hope for the future that allows us to be acknowledged for who we really are, to be with people who don't question or deny us. It gives us a chance to make friends, build relationships, and be surrounded by love and support. This makes the world a much safer place to be. So then, when we step outside of those safe environments and we're affected by other people's suspicions, fears and in the worst cases hatred, then we have a safe place to come back to for respite.
But within that notion of community there are challenges. For some people it's not always safe. I think particularly of people who identify as bisexual or transgender. They may be treated with suspicion or excluded by some people in the GLBT community. Individuals in the GLBT communities are as likely to be racist as people in the mainstream Australian community. So, for me, the notion of community as a safe place and a place to find belonging is my ideal about community. But within that, we're faced with all the challenges that any community is faced with about accepting, supporting and being alongside people who either look different to us, who act differently or who have different values, so there's always that incredible tension.
We are now grappling with how we support the elders and seniors in our community. Many older GLBT people may be estranged from biological family or have no children to look to for care and support. They may be nervous about approaching support agencies who may not have thought about what it means to care for older GLBT people in terms of cultural appropriateness. Many older people fear having to return to a 'closet' to get support. Significant community activism is focused, with some recent success, in ensuring our elders are respected and cared for by us.
Bfriend provides opportunities for people to meet other GLBT people in a safe social place. The community is made up of folk who have as many and diverse interests as any community in Australia. We find ways to engage in those passions like anybody else, so you'll get groups around bush walking, photography, dancing, discussion groups, and a whole plethora of things that have us being engaged. I think at the heart of that is friendship and kindness, so the friendships we form will sustain us in our lives. Community can be built on a shared sense of purpose, by being friends to each other and finding that feeling of having come home at last.
• If you are a community worker with this community what might be some of the community work values and principles that would underpin your work?