MEMBERS of Teignmouth Pride came to talk to Teignmouth Town Council and the council agreed that there is little information available on sources of support for members of the LGBTQ+ community.

They learned that a Teignmouth Pride event is being planned for September 10 to 11.

In Wavelength, the parish newsletter, Cllr Joan Atkins reports: ‘There are several local organisations that I have managed to find and Exeter Pride and in Newton Abbot – Proud2be and also discovered that has a fortnightly Lunch Club meeting for students who feel that they need some support with gender identification and related issues which is well attended – Ms Minty-Dyke is the member of staff to contact for information.’

SPACE, Devon County Council’s Youth Service can also advise young people about this and many other issues.

A Teignmouth Pride member has also forwarded on that there is the Yes Centre in Queen Street in Newton Abbot 01626 774656 where young people can be referred – they are not a specialist service for the LGBTQ+ community but they do signpost to other services.

They also refer to a wellbeing café in Newton Abbot which is called The Change Academy at 6 Market Street, Newton Abbot, 01626 356720.

Both of these are appointment only, however.

There is also an online community for young people – Kooth, which, although it does not specialise in LGBTQ+ issues may be able to provide information.

Then, on 08006123010 there is the Intercom Trust which is a lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans+ charity working across Devon, Cornwall, Dorset and the wider South West, providing:

Exmouth Pride

Teignmouth Community School

Help and Support Information Conferences and

Advocacy Counselling Training

Support Groups Online Directory Community Surveys Consultancy

Then, in the recent Remembrance Service national TV coverage Fighting with Pride was mentioned – there is also a LinkedIn presence for this relatively new charity which supports the health and well-being of veterans, service personnel and their families from the LGBTQ+ community.

In terms of the Council acknowledging different needs, this is being addressed in the new plans for the public toilets and, of course, the visit from the group has raised our awareness and, by this paragraph, hopefully yours, to the fact that we do have an active Teignmouth Pride Group which you can contact via a quick search on Facebook. And a Teignmouth Pride event has just been announced for 10/11 September 2022.

This information was supplied by the town council’s Wavelength magazine. You can find out more about the magazine at the council’s website http://www.teignmouth-devon.gov.uk/_UserFiles/Files/News%20and%20Events/Wavelength%20December%202021%20version.pdf