Here at Quo Vadis Trust we are delighted to announce that our charity has achieved a GOLD ‘Pride in Practice’ Award, something that we are immensely proud of.
Our latest award shows QVT’s commitment when it comes to promoting Equality and Diversity and a safe home for clients within our organisation: In August 2023 we signed to the ‘House Proud Pledge’ and in November we signed off the start of our new LGBTQ+ clients group. As of February this year, staff have attended training sessions on LGBTQ+ Inclusion by the organisation LGBT Foundation and their ‘Pride in Practice’ scheme and subsequent assessment.
QVT practices around diversity and inclusion were assessed during a face to face interview, as well as submission and review of our policies, procedures, and practices, culminating with our charity achieving the Pride in Practice Gold award.
Simeon Taylor, the Pride in Practice Account Manager – London and the South East who conducted the assessment, commented:
“…I’ve reviewed all the policies you sent, and I must say, they’re impressively progressive and inclusive. It’s refreshing to see how QVT prioritise the needs of both clients and staff”.
Marika Lucisano, Head of Care and Support at QVT, says:
“Quo Vadis Trust’s mission is to support people at risk of homelessness who are living with the effects of compound trauma, enabling them to recover and rebuild independent lives. We are aware that people reaching our services had challenging lives and may have experienced different forms or trauma and discrimination. Many LGBTQ+ people worry about accessing services for fear of experiencing discrimination, or even hostility on the grounds of their sexual orientation, gender identity or trans status. Therefore, we aim to create a space that not only is a home, but where everyone feel safe, respected and accepted.
We do it by ensuring that all QVT colleagues treat LGBTQ+ residents with respect and on an equal basis with all other residents; ensuring that complaints about harassment and abuse are taken seriously and acted on quickly, recognising and responding to diversity amongst LGBTQ+ residents, and providing spaces for LGBTQ+ residents to meet, socialise and express their voices, contributing a the design and delivery of a service, which is for all”
We’d like to thank our amazing team for their everyday work which makes QVT an inclusive and safe home for all our clients.