Pride in Care UK was founded by Bill Gavan, his civil partner Adam Kennedy, along with life-long friends and business partners Jayne Williams and Alison Davies in 2012. This small group of dedicated care professionals, LGBT activists and business people wanted to create a specialist care company helping to tackle social issues faced by many vulnerable people who may not have family or spouse support, or who suffer from social isolation, which are social issues that strongly affect the LGBT community.
Furthermore, they recognise that there are barriers and institutionalised prejudices still present in society which can affect the quality of care provided to individuals within the LGBT community. As the community becomes older and more established, the first generation post the legalisation of homosexuality is now reaching retirement, with issues of home care, residential care and LGBT specific needs at the forefront of the minds of many.
Our mission
- To provide high quality and empowering care to all, specialising in care to members of the LGBT community, with that care provided by care professionals from within the LGBT community or by individuals sensitive to the social issues faced by LGBT people within the care setting.
- Helping develop the skills and social capital of the LGBT community, and helping to remove some of the barriers and prejudices that are experienced by LGBT individuals when receiving personal care.
We know that while LGBT people have ordinary ‘everyday’ care needs, they also have needs and require support that is specific to their sexuality and/or gender that does not get tailored for currently in mainstream services. Research undertaken by Birmingham LGBT organisations show that the LGBT community has higher levels of preventable disease than average, and that lifestyle factors, the impact of loneliness and living with prejudice and chronic stress has an adverse impact on health outcomes.
Our vision
To become the leading national provider of high quality care for the LGBT community, working with those who need us most. To be the first choice for LGBT patients and carers, and to be an exemplary employer of LGBT care professionals.
Our values
- Acceptance
- Empowerment
- Excellence
- Enabling
- Inclusive
Many of us at Pride in Care UK have experience of developing services for the LGBT community that have helped it to get where it is today: helplines, pride festivals, LGBT charities and LGBT leisure businesses. We believe that our work is part of the solution and the future development of this community of interest to ensure that it is robust and can provide for its needs in an ever more complex and challenging environment.