Community Corner

Bournethisway - Our regular spotlight on a grassroots VCSE organisation in the perinatal mental health sector

What is the name of your organisation and when did you set up?

Our organisation is called 'Bournethisway' LGBT+ Parents Support Group CIC. I set this up in June 2020.

Where are you based?

Eastbourne and the surrounding areas.

What services do you offer and who do you support?

We offer regular health and wellbeing meet ups for families. Bournethisway also provides more individual support if needed such as counselling, coaching, PT sessions. 

What prompted you to set up in the first place?

I started this community group due to the direct and indirect discrimination I went through as a gay woman and wanted to create a safe space for the community to support them through their journey to and during parenthood.

Do you run or plan to develop any services that reflect specific needs within your community?   

Bournethisway runs and plans activities around the families' needs. This could be setting up counselling or coaching sessions if needed. Or PT sessions to help with mental health and wellbeing. 

What do you find most rewarding about running your organisation?   

Bringing people together that felt isolated and misunderstood previously. Creating a safe space and seeing the families connect warms my heart! 

What have you found to be the benefits of being involved in the Hearts & Minds community?

This is the first time we’ve been involved but we are very grateful to be part of this blog informing everyone of what Bournethisway offers.

If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice when starting up, what would it be?

There will be tough periods but find the glimmers of light and remember how far you’ve come, making a difference to so many people’s lives. 

If money and resources were no issue and you could wave a magic wand, what might you change about your service?

Offering more support throughout East Sussex as it’s really needed. Plus having enough money to pay a salary. 

If you could give all parents / carers a super-power, what would that be?   

Implement self care and self compassion. Seek counselling and support when needed. Get into fitness and yoga - it’s helped me throughout my journey.

Is there anything about your service that makes it stand out from the crowd or offers something a little bit different?

Bournethisway is geared around the 5 steps to wellbeing and we are one of its kind in the area.

What do you find the most challenging thing about running a perinatal mental health VCSE service at the moment?

Lack of funding to support things ticking along. Lack of awareness for the life-line Bournethisway provides. 

What keeps you going when things get tough?

Remembering how far we’ve come and the big difference we are making! 

What issues do you feel are currently most important to address within our sector?

The lack of awareness, training and education about LGBTQ+ parents and their journey to and throughout parenthood. Lack of government support. 

Anything you’d like to tell us about your service or organisation? Any recent wins or things to celebrate?

We are nearly 5 years old and growing organically still. I am proud to be the founder and I turned my suffering into empowering others. 

Thank you to Libby for sharing these insights on behalf of Bournethisway. You can find out more about the organisation by visiting https://bournethiswaylgbtparents.co.uk/ or contacting Bournethisway.LGBT@hotmail.com or 07736569771