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Straight allies – who needs them?

By Roisin Rowley-Smith, communications officer Before I’d even arrived at M & S Bank buildings in Chester for Stonewall’s Straight Allies training I’d struggled with the preparation for the course.  Choosing my role models proved a difficult task.  Atticus Finch, the lawyer who fought racism in To Kill a Mockingbird was an obvious choice for

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The only way is up for apprentices

Apprenticeships are a hot topic at the moment and it’s hard to turn on the TV or radio without hearing about how the Government will support employers to recruit apprentices. Holly Wrigley explains the Riverside view. We realised that Riverside was in a great position to support people wanting to become an apprentice, so we

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Women in Housing Conference 2015

Carol Matthews Women In Housing Conference

I am back today after attending my first Women in Housing Conference, feeling refreshed and inspired by all the fabulous women that I met. Although I knew that Carol Matthews and Barbara Houghton would be attending from Riverside I didn’t know anyone else, but was so much looking forward to the opportunity to meet other

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Supporting LGBT tenants and staff

By John Glenton Director of operations in care and support and co-chair of Spectrum, the LGBT staff group I’ve attended Stonewall conferences before, as a delegate, but this time I was excited to be sharing our own work with others, as a guest speaker.   Breaking New Ground was the theme of the Stonewall conference in

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Stonewall – born of the Thatcher era

David Green, a Riverside tenant,  reflects on the work of Stonewall and the issues still facing lesbian and gay men. In 1989 there were still many issues facing lesbian and gay men in society. Equality was not on the agenda for mainstream politicians. Undermining the gains that direct action had won in the 1970s was

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Older People’s Day

By : John Glenton, Director of Operations for care and support services Today is Older People’s Day and that brings me to consider older people from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) community. Many in their 60s, 70s and 80s may have experienced direct discrimination and some have lived in fear of imprisonment, when homosexuality

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Protecting older people from financial scams

Poulton Court, Southport accommodation for Retirement Living

By Imogen Revell LiveTime officer Older people can often become vulnerable to scamming.  Sadly we’ve seen a steady increase in LiveTime customers who have lost money from doorstep callers or telephone scammers. In most cases we can intervene and recover cash handed over in the home, but sometimes scammers leave no trace and we are

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Get Online Week

By Michael Phillips, Riverside’s lead for digital inclusion   Digital inclusion means a whole range of different things to different people.  As Get Online Week is underway I’ve been asked to unpick what digital inclusion means and why it’s so important. Perhaps because technology is moving so fast, it’s inevitable people will struggle to keep

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Bi-visibility day – my coming out story

By Mandy Lewis, customer service advisor I’m not sure if I’m surprised, or not, at the data that Stonewall discovered from their Workplace Equality Index, when over 2,000 bisexual people responded to the 2015 staff survey:  Only 27 per cent said they are comfortable in disclosing their sexuality to all colleagues, compared to 66 per

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Tenants and Residents Federation Conference 2015

Walter McFarlene, Tenant Chair of the Conference Planning Group shares his experience of the Riverside Tenants and Federation Conference 2015 in Chester.  Almost two hundred and fifty tenants, residents and board members gathered from all over the country. High on the agenda was how best tenants, residents and Riverside can work together to face the

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