We have partnered with LGBT Health and Wellbeing to provide a series of courses and community builds for the LGBTQIA+ community, and after a very successful pilot session this October and November 2023, Making With Pride is now up and running!
Check out what we have planned for 2024, and how you can get involved.
8 week courses
8-week courses in woodworking and basic electronics
Over the next 3 years we will be running several 8-week courses in woodworking and basic electronics for all members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Every course will cover the same topics, but be open to different members of the community. This will empower the participants to learn in a safe environment alongside people with similar life experiences.
Continue scrolling to see the list of the groups we will welcome in 2024.
January and February 2024
For trans and non-binary people
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February and March 2024
For older (aged 50+) members of the LGBTQIA+ community
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April and May 2024
For people with disabilities from the LGBTQIA+ community
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September and October 2024
Mixed group – all members of the LGBTQIA+ community
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November and December 2024
For duos of parents and teenagers – with either parent or teenager being part of the LGBTQIA+ community
How do I sign up?
Each class will be open for booking a month in advance, so if you are interested in the course, make sure you take a note of which group best describes you and look out for the sign up dates!
Dates and sign up link will be shared on LGBT Health & Wellbeing social media channels and newsletter:
FOLLOW THEM ON INSTRAGRAM
FOLLOW THEM ON FACEBOOK
SIGN UP TO THEIR NEWSLETTER
Weekend events throughout the year
Across the year we will be also running weekend workshops open to all members of the LGBTQIA+ community!
Here is what we have planned so far:
Intergenerational LGBTQIA+ Community Build in April 2024
Open to all ages, this build will be led by the graduates of our DIY course so they can share their skills with other members of the community.
We will be working on a local project in Edinburgh – location and details to be announced in the spring!
Sign Painting Workshop for Pride in June 2024
A Leith based sign painter is teaming up with ETL to teach some basics of sign painting – join us for this weekend workshop to create the snazziest signs for this year’s Pride! Dates and locations confirmed closer to the date.
Rainbow Family Robot Day in July 2024
Bring your wee one to the workshop and together, make a toy robot out of recycled wood. This is one of our most popular workshops at ETL, open to all ages, and we are delighted to run one exclusively for the beautiful rainbow families of Edinburgh! Dates and locations confirmed closer to the date.
Winter Wonderland Workshop Weekend in November 2024
Get ready for the festive season, and come and join our volunteers to make a wooden toy or festive decoration out of reclaimed wood. Open to all ages and skill levels. Dates and locations confirmed closer to the date.
Any Questions? Get in touch!
If you want to join in but can’t find the group for you, or have any questions about the programme before signing up, get in touch with Alys at alys@edinburghtoollibrary.org.uk.
If you have any ideas for workshops you would like us to run as part of this programme, let us know. We have three years of courses to run, so your idea may just become a reality! Contact Alys at alys@edinburghtoollibrary.org.uk.
How did this course come about, and why the LGBTQIA+ community?
One of the founding blocks of ETL is our investment to support our local community, and to that end we have been steadily expanding our outreach program. We work with local charities, using woodworking and DIY classes to improve mental health and share skills. Currently, we are also teaching young people who face barriers to employment and adults with learning disabilities. In the past year we have also worked with women recovering from addiction, refugees, and local disadvantaged communities in need of support. Our outreach programs are made possible through grant funding, which our staff team works tirelessly to apply for in order to reach as many people as possible.
Making With Pride is funded by the Social Isolation and Loneliness Fund, a grant awarded to projects fighting loneliness and isolation in Scotland. To apply for this grant, Edinburgh Tool Library partnered with LGBT Health and Wellbeing, a local charity that supports LGBTQIA+ people across Edinburgh. To understand why we felt compelled to support this community, here is an extract of the statistics stated in our grant application. Content note: The following statistics mention sensitive topics that may be upsetting, please skip ahead if you need to.
- The 2022 Health Needs Assessment of LGBT+ people report (which included surveying almost 2,500 LGBT+ people across Scotland) illustrated that nearly 3 in 4 (73%) felt isolated and 1 in 3 had attempted to end their life.
- The LGBT Youth ‘Life in Scotland’ report 2022 found that 88% of respondents reported experiencing one or more mental health conditions.
Getting this funding was a huge accomplishment, and we are excited to now provide the classes we have been planning for months. To reach the community this fund is aimed at, we have decided to create a booking system open to the public, but we hope you understand that you should only book onto this course if you are part of the LGBTQIA+ community.
We are working tirelessly to provide as many courses as we can for all communities in Edinburgh, and this is by far not the only outreach work we are doing.
If you are interested in finding out more about our outreach work, supporting us or partnering with us for future classes, please contact Janet at janet@edinburghtoollibrary.org.uk.
We are often asked about running a paid DIY course outside of our outreach program. We currently don’t have the staff capacity to provide this, but as interest grows we will certainly look into it. If you would like to join the waitlist for such a course, please contact Alys at alys@edinburghtoollibrary.org.uk.
