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Love is real, real is love
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We should all be made aware that regardless of age, disability and race, everyone needs love and relationships in their life. In the words of John Lennon “love is real, real is love".
My name is Christian Buchan. I’m a Homes Manager for Choice Support in Wakefield.
I attended a Supported Loving network meeting held in Birmingham in late May, after which both myself and fellow Wakefield Homes Manager Julie Knight agreed that the campaign message was great. Supported Loving reflected some of the personalised support we were already exploring with people we support.
I walked away from the meeting captivated by the campaign and its core values. I went to work introducing Supported Loving and its message to both the people we support and my staff team. We created a small hub where we could display Supported Loving information, social media and future events.
Due to the nature of my role and the services I manage, time can sometimes be of the essence but all summer long we’ve been sharing the message of Supported Loving. Here are some of the things we’ve done.
After liaising with fellow Supported Loving ambassador, Liz Wilson, a person has been supported to attend their first ever Pride Celebration in Leeds. I’m currently developing a local group for adults with learning disabilities who identify as LGBTQ* called ‘Rainbow Drops’. I’m hoping to secure a launch date very soon.
Lastly, after a couple of months in the planning, and with support from Dr Claire Bates, I spearheaded the very first Northern mini Supported Loving Event held in Wakefield on the 27th September.
If I could find one word to describe Supported Loving it would be inspiring.
It’s certainly inspired me. Sexuality should never be frowned upon. We should all be made aware that regardless of age, disability and race, everyone needs love and relationships in their life. In the words of John Lennon “love is real, real is love.”
Christian Buchan - Homes Manager Wakefield
*LGBT has become a mainstream acronym standing for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. The fifth letter Q is increasingly making its way into the line-up. Which can mean either 'questioning' or 'queer'. Fred Sainz, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, an organization that lobbies for LGBT rights, said in 2015 that either interpretation is accepted.)
The views expressed in the Supported Loving blog are not necessarily those of Choice Support.
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