We exhibited at Cambridge Pride 2024!

Jul 29, 2024

This week’s blog is written by our Projects Officer, Gabriel Ortega Toledo.

Gabriel and our former Scientific Projects Officer, Abby attended Cambridge Pride in June.

Beacon had the opportunity to exhibit and talk about our work, rare diseases, and the inequalities that the LGBTQ+ community face in the healthcare system.

It was my first time attending Pride.

Abby and I, both members of the Beacon team, set up a stand together with the goal of raising awareness about LGBTQ+ inequalities in healthcare, offering self-advocacy advice for healthcare appointments, and providing useful resources, such as helplines available to the LGBTQ+ community.

Throughout the day, we had the pleasure of engaging with people of all ages and backgrounds.

We discussed what it means to be LGBTQ+, especially when living with a rare disease. Through these conversations we also raised awareness about Beacon’s mission and our work within the community.

We were thrilled to highlight how we support patient advocacy groups, which sparked a lot of interest and excitement!

Listening to the stories of LGBTQ+ individuals living with rare diseases was eye-opening.  These stories helped us to realise there is still a lot of work to be done to improve access to healthcare, and the overall healthcare experience for marginalised communities.

Despite these challenges, it was amazing that we could provide a warm, helpful hand to everyone who approached our stand – even when our popularity meant we ran out of leaflets by the end of the day.

It was a day filled with meaningful connections and a strengthened resolve to continue advocating for better healthcare for all.

I can’t wait to see everyone we met again next year!

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog, we hope you enjoyed it!

Explore our new course on the Resources Hub, LGBTQ+ rare reality, so your group can help advocate for better inclusivity, awareness and healthcare practices for the LGBTQ+ community living with a rare disease.

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