LGBTQIA Pride for Life Court Costs
Donation protected
We made it! Thank you! ‘LGBTQIA Pride for Life Court Costs’ crowdfunder reached its target!
A message from Ted
Thanks, everyone, from the bottom of my heart for all that you’ve done – on January 1st 2021 we achieved the ‘LGBTQIA Pride for Life’ crowdfunder target – the best way to start the year!
You’ve not only given financial support for our legal case but given my partner Noel and me much appreciated emotional backing through a difficult, ongoing process (I can’t explain how it feels to discover that homophobic sneers, bruises and even cigarette burns have been inflicted on the man I love while he was in their ‘care’, or the battle it took to get him into a better home). Additionally, your solidarity is helping give a strong message to the authorities that they can no longer ignore, with impunity, the needs of LGBT people in care. Because whether we win or lose our case, we intend to publicly highlight the neglect, discrimination and abuse the authorities allow to be heaped on our elders. We’re going to publicly hold them to account until they instigate regulations and training which provide considerate, attentive, understanding care to us and ours. No longer should we have to destroy our letters, diaries and photographs, wipe away our lives and loves from our biographies. No longer should LGBT people have to go into the closet to avoid homophobic abuse. We’re going to fight for the respect and humane care we all deserve. Thank you!
Background to the ‘LGBTQIA Pride for Life Court Costs’ campaign
Dearest, queerest (and allies) this is my beloved friend Ted.
Ted is a living legend. As a very early member of the ‘Gay Liberation Front’ (GLF) which began the modern Pride movement as we know it, Ted should be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the GLF but instead is battling institutional homophobia, yet again. Ted’s life-long partner has been subjected to homophobic abuse in his care home and so we held a fundraiser for legal costs to hold the care home to account where his partner of nearly 50 years has suffered physical and homophobic abuse.
There isn’t one LGBTQIA+ care home in the whole of the UK, so currently queers have to go into the closet or risk abuse and attacks in places which cannot cater for us. The cruel irony of legends who have fought their whole lives for freedom like this suffering homophobia at the end of their lives is so cruel.
We are taking this case forward for Ted and his partner but also to help raise awareness and ensure that hospitals, care homes and councils give LGBT elderly, disabled or hospitalised the full respect and care we all deserve, instead of forcing us into the closet to avoid abusive maltreatment. The following updates from Ted, though horrendous, are not the worst that elderly LGBT people, who sometimes have no children or family to support them, are suffering.
1) The care home, our solicitor and barrister officially recognise minutes of the protection meeting held in March 2019 (attended by care home and council representatives, myself and my representatives) which state that the allegations of neglect and homophobic comments are substantiated
2) Our solicitor and barrister have registered that both the home and I possess videos and photographs of the bruises, including fist marks,` on my partners chest, stomach and waist. I have two independent witnesses (one appearing in one of the videos) prepared to testify to the discovery of the bruises, while two whistle-blowing staff witnessed the incidents during which they were inflicted.
3) Our solicitor and barrister have accepted from me my video, taken at the home in August, showing what look like several cigarette burns on the back of my partner’s right hand (he doesn’t smoke).
4) It is uncontested that my partner had been held there for months, against both his and my wishes, without the legally required permission documents having been completed by the home
5) The official social worker’s report notes that a) when my partner was moved there the home had officially been declared as poor on important qualities of leadership b) that it was inappropriate for my partner and could not meet his needs.
6) The home’s security was so inadequate that though he was suffering from severe dementia, he was able to abscond on to traffic busy streets on four separate occasions (that we know of), with the home denying they had any responsibility to inform me of these incidents, which I learned of through whistle-blowers and a concerned social worker.
There were more problems associated with his being restrained at that place, but the above are serious, confirmed and can be mentioned on the funding site at this time.
BIG LOVE AND SOLIDARITY AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT! Ted and dan (contact us on [email redacted])
More about Ted
Ted is a Black LGBTQ activist and very early member of the Gay Liberation Front since its launch on 13th October 1970 – a grassroots movement for freedom that began Pride in the UK in 1972 currently celebrating its 50th anniversary as it began in 1970. Motivated by heroes like Huey Newton and Bayard Rustin to expand queer rights demand to calls for justice for all, Ted became active in GLF. He took the only photographs of the very first march through London by queer people (GLF’s Youth Group age of consent equality demands, August 1971), lived in a GLF commune for three years, worked for GALOP, wrote for Gay Times magazine, and co-founded Black Lesbians & Gays Against Media Homophobia, (BLAGAMH) which successfully fought media attacks on black gay footballer Justin Fashanu and against Buju Banton’s viciously homophobic song ‘Boom Bye Bye’. Though actually Ted Brown, he is quoted in books ‘Blowing The Lid’ and ‘No Bath But Plenty of Bubbles’ as Ted Walker-Brown. Contact Ted on [email redacted]
A message from Ted
Thanks, everyone, from the bottom of my heart for all that you’ve done – on January 1st 2021 we achieved the ‘LGBTQIA Pride for Life’ crowdfunder target – the best way to start the year!
You’ve not only given financial support for our legal case but given my partner Noel and me much appreciated emotional backing through a difficult, ongoing process (I can’t explain how it feels to discover that homophobic sneers, bruises and even cigarette burns have been inflicted on the man I love while he was in their ‘care’, or the battle it took to get him into a better home). Additionally, your solidarity is helping give a strong message to the authorities that they can no longer ignore, with impunity, the needs of LGBT people in care. Because whether we win or lose our case, we intend to publicly highlight the neglect, discrimination and abuse the authorities allow to be heaped on our elders. We’re going to publicly hold them to account until they instigate regulations and training which provide considerate, attentive, understanding care to us and ours. No longer should we have to destroy our letters, diaries and photographs, wipe away our lives and loves from our biographies. No longer should LGBT people have to go into the closet to avoid homophobic abuse. We’re going to fight for the respect and humane care we all deserve. Thank you!
Background to the ‘LGBTQIA Pride for Life Court Costs’ campaign
Dearest, queerest (and allies) this is my beloved friend Ted.
Ted is a living legend. As a very early member of the ‘Gay Liberation Front’ (GLF) which began the modern Pride movement as we know it, Ted should be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the GLF but instead is battling institutional homophobia, yet again. Ted’s life-long partner has been subjected to homophobic abuse in his care home and so we held a fundraiser for legal costs to hold the care home to account where his partner of nearly 50 years has suffered physical and homophobic abuse.
There isn’t one LGBTQIA+ care home in the whole of the UK, so currently queers have to go into the closet or risk abuse and attacks in places which cannot cater for us. The cruel irony of legends who have fought their whole lives for freedom like this suffering homophobia at the end of their lives is so cruel.
We are taking this case forward for Ted and his partner but also to help raise awareness and ensure that hospitals, care homes and councils give LGBT elderly, disabled or hospitalised the full respect and care we all deserve, instead of forcing us into the closet to avoid abusive maltreatment. The following updates from Ted, though horrendous, are not the worst that elderly LGBT people, who sometimes have no children or family to support them, are suffering.
1) The care home, our solicitor and barrister officially recognise minutes of the protection meeting held in March 2019 (attended by care home and council representatives, myself and my representatives) which state that the allegations of neglect and homophobic comments are substantiated
2) Our solicitor and barrister have registered that both the home and I possess videos and photographs of the bruises, including fist marks,` on my partners chest, stomach and waist. I have two independent witnesses (one appearing in one of the videos) prepared to testify to the discovery of the bruises, while two whistle-blowing staff witnessed the incidents during which they were inflicted.
3) Our solicitor and barrister have accepted from me my video, taken at the home in August, showing what look like several cigarette burns on the back of my partner’s right hand (he doesn’t smoke).
4) It is uncontested that my partner had been held there for months, against both his and my wishes, without the legally required permission documents having been completed by the home
5) The official social worker’s report notes that a) when my partner was moved there the home had officially been declared as poor on important qualities of leadership b) that it was inappropriate for my partner and could not meet his needs.
6) The home’s security was so inadequate that though he was suffering from severe dementia, he was able to abscond on to traffic busy streets on four separate occasions (that we know of), with the home denying they had any responsibility to inform me of these incidents, which I learned of through whistle-blowers and a concerned social worker.
There were more problems associated with his being restrained at that place, but the above are serious, confirmed and can be mentioned on the funding site at this time.
BIG LOVE AND SOLIDARITY AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT! Ted and dan (contact us on [email redacted])
More about Ted
Ted is a Black LGBTQ activist and very early member of the Gay Liberation Front since its launch on 13th October 1970 – a grassroots movement for freedom that began Pride in the UK in 1972 currently celebrating its 50th anniversary as it began in 1970. Motivated by heroes like Huey Newton and Bayard Rustin to expand queer rights demand to calls for justice for all, Ted became active in GLF. He took the only photographs of the very first march through London by queer people (GLF’s Youth Group age of consent equality demands, August 1971), lived in a GLF commune for three years, worked for GALOP, wrote for Gay Times magazine, and co-founded Black Lesbians & Gays Against Media Homophobia, (BLAGAMH) which successfully fought media attacks on black gay footballer Justin Fashanu and against Buju Banton’s viciously homophobic song ‘Boom Bye Bye’. Though actually Ted Brown, he is quoted in books ‘Blowing The Lid’ and ‘No Bath But Plenty of Bubbles’ as Ted Walker-Brown. Contact Ted on [email redacted]
Organizer
Dan Glass
Organizer
England
