A NEW shared lunch event is designed to keep promoting transvisibility and support with Ballarat community and business allies.
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A Place at the Table community long lunch will be a chance to gather the region's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and asexual community and find common ground and understanding with service providers.
The May event launch follows City of Ballarat raising the transgender flag for the first time outside town hall for International Day of Transgender Visibility.
Lunch organiser KL Joy, who is a transgender and non-binary person, said allies were vital for connections and support for the LGBTIQA community to grow in Ballarat and make this a more inclusive city.
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"It can be very hard to tell if there is a rainbow-friendly cafe, for example, without a sticker on the window," KL Joy said.
"Services that aren't rainbow run, or have people in the rainbow community working there, can also learn to be good allies...We need the support to help culture change."
A Place At The Table will coincide with IDAHOBIT Day (International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia) on May 16.
The event, supported with a state government equality grant, was set for last year. Joy successfully sought a grant extension to ensure the community could gather face-to-face for more genuine connections in breaking down barriers.
Lunch will be hosted by Lance De Boyle and Gabrielle Labucci, from LaNCETV, and is supported by Ballaarat Mechanics Institute, Ballarat Community Health and Child and Family Services Ballarat.
KL Joy said the event was an important first step in creating spaces for ongoing conversations between the community and the organisations that did not yet have a strong relationship with the LGBTIQA community.
"It's important that service providers hear directly from our community to share what works in terms of health and well-being and where there might be some areas that could be strengthened, but it's also a place for organisations who are doing the work to share how they are doing the work with other service providers," KL Joy said.
People who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual make up almost 10 per cent of Ballarat's population, according to 2017 data.
KL Joy said trans people needed the most support to feel safe with higher levels of discrimination in public and online.
A Place at the Table long lunch is at Minerva Space, Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute on May 16. Details: facebook.com/APATTBallarat.
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