Anchor colleagues celebrate at Leeds Pride

Anchor colleagues were out in full rainbow force as Pride celebrations came to Leeds! Equipped with our own brightly coloured bus, colleagues, friends and family, as well as Anchor residents, were invited to join the parade and celebrate.

Roger Mitchell, Chair of Anchor’s LGBTQ+ colleague network said:

We had such a great day at Leeds Pride celebrating the LGBTQ+ community with family and friends. It was such a joyful atmosphere, and everyone was having so much fun. I’m so pleased to be a part of it.

Throughout June and across the summer, we’ve hosted a range of Pride activities. This included quizzes, t-shirt competitions, panel events, and shared resources so residents and colleagues at all of our locations could get involved. Some of our locations hosted their own local Prides, and we even hosted our own Anchor-wide Pride event where colleagues and residents were encouraged to wear the colours of the rainbow.

Here at Anchor, we put great importance on being an inclusive and welcoming place for all, regardless of gender or sexual identity. As well as having dedicated LGBTQIA+ affirmative housing, we have an LGBTQIA+ resident group that works closely with its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager to ensure diversity is championed, and policies and practices reflect this. 

In addition, we are a Stonewall Champion, a signatory to the Care Leaver Covenant and this year became the first housing and care provider to be awarded Gold Status in the 2023 Inclusive Employers Standard. Inclusive Employers provides expert advice and support to workplaces who are committed to inclusion, and it was a great achievement for us to have received its highest accreditation, just 18 months after receiving Silver Status.

Henry Fairnington, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer, said: 

As an organisation that seeks to support such a diverse range of people, I think it’s incredibly important that people who work and live with Anchor and those who don’t know about our inclusivity and play a pivotal part in shaping our DEI&B strategy. Events such as Pride, organised by and for Anchor colleagues, come amid a lot of hard work to ensure that the LGBTQIA+ community is supported and celebrated at Anchor.

Find out more about Anchor’s approach to diversity and inclusion here.