Council launches ‘Welcome Here’ for all facilities
Wednesday, 11 September
Inner West Council is an official participant in ACON’s Welcome Here project; supporting businesses and organisations to be inclusive of LGBTIQ communities.
All of Council’s facilities including childcare centres, community centres, aquatic facilities, and all libraries proudly display the Welcome Here sticker and charter at each site to make the Inner West more inclusive.
ACON’s Welcome Here project is about fostering spaces that are welcoming and supportive of LGBTIQ people while spreading the message to the broader community.
“The Inner West is all about promoting acceptance and diversity and we want the LGBTIQ community to feel comfortable and safe at Council facilities,” said Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne.
“It’s encouraging that so many businesses are out and proud in their support of LGBTIQ people. Council is pleased to be a highly visible member to make this community feel comfortable and safe,” Mayor Byrne said.
“With approximately 140 members in the Inner West Council area signing up nearly 300 sites to the Welcome Here Project, the Inner West is one of the fastest growing regions for businesses and services that want to demonstrate their commitment to providing welcoming environments for LGBTIQ people,” said ACON CEO Nicholas Parkhill.
“This is partly due to the leadership shown by Inner West Council who are spear-heading projects like Pride Seats, which engage the LGBTIQ community and help people to feel included and safe.”
“ACON commends the Inner West Council for its leadership and ingenuity in this space, and encourage other local businesses and services to follow their lead and join up today” said Mr Parkhill.
Some of the local businesses already registered include:
Reverse Garbage Marrickville
Headspace Ashfield
MAKER Café and Kitchen Petersham
Dress for Success
Petty Cash Café Marrickville
Cottonmouth Records Enmore
Alfalfa House Community Food Co-op Newtown
Newtown Neighbourhood Centre
Bedworks Stanmore
Doctors on Darling Balmain
Explore and Develop Lilyfield
Croydon Health Centre Croydon
The Welcome Here Project is free for businesses and organisations to join. To register, they need to:
- Display the Welcome Here sticker and charter at each nominated site in a visible position
- Pledge that LGBTIQ people will be welcomed, included, respected and treated with dignity every time they visit
- Conduct a staff ACON survey to assess levels of understanding and experience of being welcoming and inclusive of diversity
- Complete an online survey each year for project evaluation
- Celebrate 15 days of diversity per annum using ACON provided resources
- Provide LGBTIQ diversity inclusion training to staff
For more information go to https://www.welcomehere.org.au/ or for print quality images, contact the Communications team.