We’re here to help LGBTQ people and people with HIV in Western Sydney take control of their health by providing a range of local services and supporting a variety of local community groups.
Our Work in Western Sydney
We’re here to help LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV in Western Sydney create opportunities to live their healthiest lives.
Our values of community, collaboration, equity, inclusion and compassion guide us as we support LGBTQ+ networks, as we encourage research into the lives of our community in Western Sydney and as we create spaces of inclusion and events.
Starting Out West
‘Starting Out West’ is a FREE face-to-face workshop series that brings together LGBTQ+ people living in Western Sydney to connect and have meaningful conversations about issues that are important to us. We discuss topics such as:
- Culture and queerness
- Meeting new people
- Navigating stigma and discrimination
- Keeping safe while having fun
- Coming out & coming in
- Self-care in dating and relationships
- Using the apps and hooking up
- And more…
Stories Out West
Stories Out West, an initiative of ACON, is an anthology bringing together emerging and established First Nations and culturally diverse LGBTQ+ writers from Western Sydney. It provided an opportunity to elevate the voices of LGBTQ+SB First Nations and CALD communities in Western Sydney through storytelling.
This work is part of ACON’s commitment to achieving greater health equity for LGBTQ+ people from CALD, as well as migrant and refugee backgrounds.
ACON’s investment in the creation of Stories Out West, and that it has, from inception, been developed by and for our communities is an expression of ACON’s values of Community, Collaboration, Equity and Inclusion, and the work we set out to undertake in ACON’s Multicultural Engagement Plan. More than that, it’s a powerful expression of our collective strength in our varied but connected communities.
The launch of Stories Out West was held on the 21st February at Club Parramatta, in the heart of Western Sydney.
We had over 300 attendees and we were able to showcase important emerging LGBTQ+ First Nations and multicultural voices from Greater Western Sydney. We distributed over 300 physical copies of Stories Out West.
Physical copies of Stories Out West are currently limited and distributed at key ACON events as well as by Sweatshop. Please feel free to download your own FREE digital copy of Stories Out West via the links below:
Greater Western Sydney LGBTQ+ Leadership Network
The GWS Leadership Network is a newsletter for LGBTQ+ leaders who are involved with organising LGBTQ+ community activities, groups and events in Greater Western Sydney. Our goal is to build local LGBTQ+ leadership and foster ongoing community action in Greater Western Sydney.
Leading Rainbow Western Sydney
Leading Rainbow Western Sydney is a leadership gathering series for established and emerging community leaders and groups who support multicultural LGBTQ communities in Greater Western Sydney to connect with, learn from, and support each other.
Meet like-minded people and make cross-cultural connections as we support each other, build skills and foster ongoing community activity.
Flick through the zine here for a summary of our successful launch event in 2022.
To stay updated with our future Leading Rainbow Western Sydney events, join our GWS Leadership Network here.
LGBTQ+ Inclusion Networks
There are several LGBTQ+ networks across Greater Western Sydney that you can tap into for support and information.
- Parramatta Queer Forum (PQF) The Parramatta Queer Forum meets once a month with residents and service providers to help build capacity, visibility and create events for queer people in the Parramatta Municipality and surrounds.
- ICN Bankstown – The network is a forum for service providers, organisations and interested individuals who meet and discuss issues affecting marginalised groups, especially LGBTQ+ communities in South Western Sydney. The group discusses organisational issues that affect marginalised communities such and identifies improvements that can be made.
- Western Sydney Rainbow Connection (WSRC) Penrith/ Blacktown – LGBTQ+ network in Penrith – servicing the Nepean Blue Mountains and Western Sydney LHDs.
- Macarthur Wingecarribee – This network brings together services that provide support for young people who identify as LGBTIQA+ in the Macarthur area to build capacity and collaborate.
- Fairfield Liverpool Inclusive Network – FLLIN is an inclusive network that brings together service providers that work with gender and/or sexually diverse people within the Fairfield and Liverpool areas.
Western Sydney Research
HOME IS WHERE OUR STORY BEGINS
The report Home is Where Our Story Begins: Family, community and belonging for sexuality and gender diverse CALD people, is a collaborative research project between the NSW LGBTIQ Domestic & Family Violence Interagency, ACON, and Western Sydney University, which explores the experiences of LGBTQ people in CALD communities in Greater Western Sydney following the same-sex marriage vote in 2017.
Click here to download the full report
Click here to view a video on the report
ADVANCING LGBTQ+ SAFETY AND INCLUSION IN GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY
This scoping research, conducted in 2019-2020, was a collaboration between Sexualities and Genders Research (SaGR) in the Diversity and Human Rights Research Centre at Western Sydney University and ACON. The research involved an exploration of the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ people, of the issues they encounter in relation to access to services in the region, and of best practice service provision to sexuality and gender diverse communities in Greater Western Sydney.
The objectives of the research were to:
- understand how best to build capacity in sexuality and gender diverse communities in Greater Western Sydney;
- to foster safety and inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in the region;
- to enhance service provision to these communities; and
- ultimately to improve LGBTQ+ community members’ overall wellbeing.
The research participants included LGBTQ+ community leaders and members as well as key service providers from relevant organisations in Greater Western Sydney.
The report presents findings and recommendations that support medium to long-term advocacy, funding, research and program development opportunities to improve the health of sexuality and gender diverse people living in Greater Western Sydney.
Click here to download the full report
Click here to download the abbreviated report
For more information contact info@acon.org.au
WE’RE FAMILY TOO REPORT
We’re Family Too (2012) is a ground-breaking report that documents the effects of homophobia on same-sex attracted (SSA) people from Arabic-speaking backgrounds in NSW, while also drawing attention to racism and stereotyping within NSW’s LGBT community.
The report also examines how SSA people from Arabic-speaking backgrounds in NSW provide support for each other, and it notes a range of initiatives that can address the effects of homophobia and racism in our communities.
We thank all the respondents and contributors for participating in this valuable and pioneering research.
We are working to update the report and a second edition will be released soon.
SUPPORT & ASSISTANCE
Below are links to agencies and organisations that can provide information and support for LGBTQ+ people from Arabic-speaking backgrounds and their families:
Multicultural Groups and Support
There are a number of LGBTQ+ multicultural community groups and directories. They include:
Rainbow Cultures: A directory of LGBTQIA+ multicultural community groups and services in NSW.
ACON Asian Gay, Bi+ + Queer Men’s Project: Network for gay, bi+ and queer men from all Asian cultural backgrounds. Email: asia@acon.org.au
ANTRA – Australia and New Zealand Tongzhi Rainbow Alliance: Community group for Mandarin and Cantonese-speaking LGBTQIA+ self-identifying people
Trikone Australasia: Community organisation providing social support for LGBTIQA+ people of South Asian origin.
Sydney Queer Muslims: Community-based organisation providing social support, education and resources to individuals and families in NSW.
FLAGCOM (Filipino Lesbian and Gay Community and Friends): Community-based organisation representing LGBTI Filipinos and their friends
Selamat Datang Indonesian Community: Community group established to show support for LGBTI community in Indonesia, and connecting LGBTI Indonesians and their friends in Australia. Email selamatdatangcommunity@gmail.com
Shequ: Not-for-profit organisation for LGBTIQ+ women and non-binary people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. Email shequgroup@gmail.com
