Supporting Black History Month 2024
Our colleagues are getting involved in a range of activities to recognise Black History Month this month, including participating in Wear Red Day.
But equality, diversity and inclusion are important to us all year round.
Our Diverse Heritage Forum has been running for over three years and is a way to get colleagues together to share ideas to make positive changes.
Lawrence, who chairs the forum, shares what it means to him:
“I identify very strongly with my culture – it’s both where I’ve come from and it helps guide where I’m going. I believe strongly in supporting others to have a voice, to help influence positive change.
“For me, that’s what our Diverse Heritage Forum is.
"We’re here to serve all colleagues and customers of diverse heritage, and everyone is welcome to join our group and shape what we do.
"At the core, our group’s purpose is inclusion. Inclusion for all our colleagues and our customers. We want to make sure everyone hears our messages, has equal access to our services, but also feels heard themselves. We want to make sure NCHA is moving in a positive direction, in terms of equality and diversity, to bring about positive change.
"Inclusion is a state. It does not happen overnight, but the forum is a positive influence for change. The group is open to everyone; I believe that the more we get to know each other and each other’s stories, the better for us all.”
Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy sets out our plans to nurture an inclusive culture for our teams and provide inclusive services for all of our customers.
Events taking place this month
Across NCHA a range of events and activities are taking place this month to recognise Black History Month. We hold regular ‘lunch and learn’ sessions that colleagues can pop along to on their lunch break to learn about the experiences of others. This month Kelly spoke about her experience of growing up mixed race in the UK.
In our Care and Support services, our teams have put on Black History Month themed activities for residents, including quizzes, movie nights and meals based on traditional recipes.
On Friday 18 October, colleagues from across the business are taking part in Wear Red Day. We believe that being visible about our stance on racism is important to show solidarity and inclusion across our diverse colleague and customer communities.
Find out more about Wear Red Day on the Show racism the red card website.
