In the lead up to the second annual Gippsland Pride Cup, Latrobe Regional Hospital is set to hold the first Proud To Be Community Forum aimed at educating local clubs, teams and community groups about the importance of being all-inclusive of the LGBTIQ community.
The event will feature a range of guest speakers and presentations, including an address from Pride Cup founder Jason Ball.
Other guests include champion swimmer Daniel Kowalski, transgender athlete Hannah Mouncey and North Gippsland Football Netball League president David Kyle, while an education session will be held by Proud2Play.
Latrobe Regional Hospital executive director mental health and AFL Gippsland commissioner Cayte Hoppner said the Proud To Be Community Forum was an “important prelude” to the second annual Gippsland Pride Cup.
“We wanted to build on those initial talks that we had with some clubs and the panel at last year’s Pride Cup and really wanted to build on that education and make it a broader community program,” Hoppner said.
Hoppner said next month’s forum was designed to spark conversation around the importance of inclusion and connectedness for community groups and the LGBTIQ community alike.
“It’s not just about football or netball – we all want to feel connected and feel as though we belong,” she said.
“I often speak about this from [a] mental health nursing background and homophobia, bullying and harassment has a very real impact on mental health.
“We know that LGBTIQ people are more likely to die by suicide and have high rates of mental health issues and that community is at risk.”
Ahead of the forum, Hoppner said all community groups – not just sporting clubs – had the power to change lives.
“As a community club if you can have that conversation and that person be connected to your club, it brings diversity and a difference of opinion and that can be the difference for some between being here and not being here,” she said.
“We actually all have the opportunity to make a really big difference to someone’s life.”
The Proud To Be Community Forum will be held on Wednesday, June 13 from 6.15pm at the Premiere Function Centre on Grey Street, Traralgon.
Entry is free and supper will be provided.
Anyone interested in attending is required to register interest by Friday, June 8 by visiting lrh.com.au and following the link on the home page.
