We’ve been full of PRIDE in June at Exemplar Health Care

Our mission is to make every day better for the people we support. We do this by supporting them to achieve their goals and live life the way they choose.

We aim to create inclusive and supportive environments for our colleagues and residents, which champion diversity and empower people to be their authentic selves.

During June, we celebrated Pride Month, encouraging everyone to come together to show support for, and raise awareness of, the LGBTQIA+ community.

Celebrating Pride Month in our homes

To support Pride Month in June, our colleagues and residents have been taking part in activities to raise awareness of LGBTQIA+ rights and hosting their very own Pride parades.

We had lots of smiles at our Copperfields care home in Leeds where they hosted a Pride BBQ and garden party.

Our Dearnevale care home in Barnsley invited two drag queens from their local community to come and perform in their outdoor Pride parade.

Helen McGowan, Home Manager, said: “We had an amazing day and both our residents and their families loved it. This was a real coming together of our staff teams, residents and families and it was the first real celebration since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

“Families of our newer residents had a fabulous time experiencing Dearnevale in full celebration mode for the first time!

“Pride is celebrated all over the world and we love to be part of that celebration. Celebrating equality and inclusivity is what we’re about at Dearnevale.”

In Lincolnshire, the celebrations continued at our Havenmere care home where residents and colleagues came together with their families to recognise Pride Month at their garden party, which was filled with lots of singing, dancing and a wonderful atmosphere.

Hannah Blundell, Home Manager, said: “We’re proud of our residents and staff for embracing the Pride celebrations and joining in with the dancing and singing at our garden party.

“Rainbows and laughter were our themes of the day as family members attended under our large gazebo as the sun was shining! Everyone joined in and got dressed up for the occasion or celebrated with face paint.”

A Proud Place celebrates with colleagues

Earlier in the year, we launched our first ever Colleague Groups to provide a forum for people to share ideas, concerns and successes.

The first Colleague Group that was launched was ‘A Proud Place’, which is aimed at LBGTQIA+ colleagues and their allies.

In June, colleagues who are a part of the group came together to celebrate Pride Month, inviting everybody from Exemplar Health Care to join in.

Throughout the day, colleagues signed pledges and petitions, learned through some educational sessions and had lots of fun together in the name of Pride.

Aaron, the A Proud Place Co-chair, shared:

“Over the years, Pride Month has grown in numbers, not just those from the LGBTQIA+ community but the support from their families and friends. Everyone deserves to be their true self and Pride gives people the confidence to do that.

“Some people may think that it’s just a party, but it’s much more than that. Pride Month is an entire month dedicated to the uplifting of LGBTQIA+ voices, celebration of LGBTQIA+ culture and the support of LGBTQIA+ rights. I celebrate Pride because so many people before me couldn’t.”

You can take a look at some of the celebrations in our video below.

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We understand the importance of our workforce representing and recognising the people we support - and we do that by providing an inclusive workplace.

If you’re looking to start your career in care, and want to work for an employer that supports and invests in you, read more about why you should work with Exemplar Health Care and visit our latest vacancies.