St Ann’s Hospice excited to join Manchester Pride Parade for first time
We'll be taking part in the Manchester Pride Parade for the first time this year – and you can join us.
St Ann’s Hospice are delighted to announce that they will participating in the Manchester Pride Parade for the first time this year on Saturday 26th August.
We have a walking entry in the iconic parade, which follows a route from Castlefield through Manchester city centre, ending near Piccadilly. Staff and volunteers from across the hospice will be taking part to represent St Ann’s, alongside supporters of the hospice and some representatives from partner organisations.
At St Ann’s Hospice we believe in pride and dignity in life and death. No matter who you are or who you love, we care for everyone in our communities right across Greater Manchester. We firmly believe that love knows no boundaries, and we are resolute in our promise to provide unwavering support, if you ever need us. Paul Jarvis, Director of Business Development, St Ann’s Hospice
St Ann’s walkers will be wearing t-shirts and holding banners bearing their message, and their entry will pumping out some classic pride hits along the route.
There are many events that are taking place in the Gay Village across the weekend, with the Parade happening on Saturday 26th August. The Parade encompasses thousands of LGBTQ+ people and their allies who all march together through the city centre.
St Ann’s Hospice will also have a stall on Monday 28th August in the Community Lane area of the Manchester Pride festival. Resources will be available that St Ann’s have developed, giving advice on palliative care for the LGBTQ+ community and how to reduce the specific barriers they face.
Manchester Pride is the latest Pride event in the calendar for St Ann’s Hospice, who this year have also had a presence at Stockport Pride, Salford Pride and Trans Pride Manchester.
Heidi McIntyre, Palliative Care Coordinator at St Ann’s, spoke on a panel at one of Trans Pride Manchester’s events on Saturday 12th August. She said: “Over the last 18 months I’ve been co-delivering St Ann’s Hospice’s Inequalities Workshop to St Ann’s staff and external health and social care colleagues, which includes a focus on the experiences of LGBTQ+ communities within palliative and end-of-life care.”
Services often focus on LGBTQ+ communities as a collective, however each community experiences quite specific barriers. For trans and gender-diverse people this is especially true, so having a presence at the first Trans Pride in Manchester felt particularly important for us and what we’re trying to achieve. Heidi McIntyre, Palliative Care Coordinator, St Ann’s Hospice
The presence at local Pride events is the latest step in St Ann’s journey in building relationships with groups that have traditionally faced inequity in palliative care, to ensure that they are a fully inclusive organisation. Over the last year, this work has also encompassed delivering the Inequalities training workshops, working with the homeless community, and working with the LGBT Foundation on projects including the development of LGBTQ+-specific palliative care resources and Advance Care Planning workshops.
Suzanne Willians is one of the staff members taking part in the Manchester Pride Parade this year. She works in the hospice’s inpatient unit at its site in Heald Green.
I’ve worked at St Ann’s Hospice for nearly 30 years and feel privileged to represent the inclusive care we give to all our patients. It’s important to reach out to LGBTQ+ community to show that St Ann’s Hospice cares. I’m looking forward to being part of this important day in Manchester. Suzanne Willians, Heald Green Inpatient Unit, St Ann's Hospice
If you would like to walk with St Ann’s Hospice at the Manchester Pride Parade, or if you have any feedback or ideas to share about how St Ann’s could support the LGBTQ+ community further, please email communications@sah.org.uk.