This statement is posted in response to social media posts in August 2021, regarding a breakdown of an intended collaboration between The Clare Project and a local project supporting queer, trans, and intersex People of Colour (QTIPoC).
The circumstances were that The Clare Project applied for NHS funding to support the QTIPoC community, but without sufficient involvement of this local project. This, as we acknowledged fully at the time, demonstrates how we at The Clare Project too easily allowed white privilege to dominate the interests of People of Colour who should have been the heart and focus of the project. We have apologised for the hurt caused but hurt was caused and apologies are insufficient. It does not fix things.
We at The Clare Project determined immediately to examine ourselves and our processes and structures in order to do better. We have taken the following actions:
- Mediation took place between January and March 2021, at which point a settlement was reached and the matter formally closed.
- We restored the NHS funding in full to the QTIPoC project. This can be seen in our accounts, which are publicly available.
- We commissioned a PoC-led consultation into this and wider issues on how racism is experienced in trans, non-binary and intersex (TNBI) communities and perpetuated by white-led LGBTQ+ charities. A report will be published.
- We committed to increasing our representation of identities and experience, across our trustees, employees and members. We are diversifying and being guided by the QTIPoC TNBI members of our team and communities.
With regards to this situation, The Clare Project would like to invite you to discuss any concerns or questions you have with us directly, and if there is any support we can offer during this time, please do get in touch. We have a small team of experienced mental health workers from the TNBI community, including a Black TNBI worker, and are also open to sourcing external support alongside this from outside of our team. If you would prefer to speak to someone who is a Person of Colour, or from another intersecting group, please request this when getting in touch and we will do our best to accommodate:
- Email: info@clareproject.org.uk
- Text/leave a voicemail: 07464 229395