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International Women’s Day

By Antoinette Turner, Spectrum co-chair On International Women’s Day I want to share the news about my new role as co-chair of Spectrum, our LGBT staff group. As women around the world celebrate their achievements, past and present, it’s as good a time as any to share my views on why lesbian and bisexual women

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LGBT history in the making

By John Glenton, Riverside’s chair of SPECTRUM and director of operations in care and support. In January I was delighted to learn that Riverside had kept its place in the Stonewall top 100 gay-friendly workplaces. And as February is the month designated to celebrating LGBT history, it’s the perfect time to both look back, and

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Riverside is a top 100 gay-friendly employer

Riverside has once again retained its position as one of Stonewall’s top 100 best employers in the league table compiled by the gay rights campaigning organisation announced today. The 55,000-home housing association joins seven other housing providers nationwide in the top 100. Riverside is the best gay-friendly housing association in the North West for the

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New Year, New Start, New You

By Nick Stephenson, project manager for employment and training. As we embark on a new year, many of us face far greater challenges than keeping to the resolutions made during the festivities. The Christmas hangover can result in real financial hardship for some. Choosing to forget about the rent for a few months to recoup

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Cycling to Paris to combat climate change

By Howard Garde, Riverside’s energy project manager. I’ve been asked to share my experience of cycling to Paris to take part in a rally against climate change ahead of this year’s United Nations Summit. During a week when colleagues and customers in Cumbria and the North West are still struggling with the devastating consequences of

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Anti-Bullying Week- be brave, be heard and be kind

By John Glenton, Riverside’s chair of Spectrum.     This week is Anti-Bullying Week in England and the theme is making a noise about bullying. We all need to stand up and speak out against bullying, but if you are a victim it’s difficult to find the strength and confidence to challenge it. Bullying in

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Preparing older people for the cold snap

By Lisa Anderson, LiveTime officer. Age UK claims that each winter one elderly person will die needlessly, every seven minutes. This is a stark statistic, and I’m pleased to see the charity call on the government to improve energy efficiency and end fuel poverty, especially for older people. In light of this shocking home truth,

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Anti-Bullying Week – Be brave, be heard and be kind

By John Glenton, Riverside’s chair of Spectrum.   This week is Anti-Bullying Week in England and the theme is making a noise about bullying. We all need to stand up and speak out against bullying, but if you are a victim it’s difficult to find the strength and confidence to challenge it. Bullying in the

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Tackling unemployment and skills shortages in Merseyside

By Nick Stephenson, Riverside’s project manager for employment and training. This week the National Housing Federation released their Home Truths report, which not only revealed the cost of home ownership in the regions, but also the impact of unemployment and underemployment on people’s ability to get onto the housing ladder. Nationally, 6.2% of working age

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Straight allies – who needs them?

Northern Pride

By Roisin Rowley-Smith, communications officer Before I’d even arrived at M & S Bank buildings in Chester for Stonewall’s Straight Allies training I’d struggled with the preparation for the course.  Choosing my role models proved a difficult task.  Atticus Finch, the lawyer who fought racism in To Kill a Mockingbird was an obvious choice for

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