Trans Day of Remembrance, and Ventilation

[diffrentcolours]

A few weeks ago was Trans Day of Remembrance. A consortium of trans organisations (Not A Phase, Sparkle and others) had organised the usual vigil in Sackville Park, but given the sub-zero temperatures and bright_helpings' ankle, we decided to go watch a live stream of the vigil from the relative warmth and comfort of the Proud Trust building down by MMU. There were about a dozen people there, including one of the baby queers that E and I had met on the way to Trans Pride Manchester. I'd brought the CO2 monitor and was wearing a mask, of course. Even with a small number of people in a big space, the CO2 levels were very high, building up from 1500ppm to 2500ppm over the course of the event (800ppm is considered a relatively low-risk level). This goes against Proud Places's own accessibility guide which states "Each of the event spaces at The Proud Place has a background ventilation system that automatically adjusts to occupancy levels."

So after the event, as well as passing on my thanks to volunteers, I raised this with both Proud Trust (who own the building) and Sparkle (who'd organised the live stream). I'd spoken with a friend who's a Sparkle volunteer, who said that the Sparkle volunteers at the Proud Place weren't briefed on ventilation, which is a predictable oversight. In my feedback, I said that I loved the fact this policy existed, and would like to volunteer to help ensure that it's followed. I offered help in various ways, from providing procedures and/or training to staff and volunteers; providing Corsi-Rosenthal boxes to improve air filtration; developing CO2 level monitoring solutions so people are alerted when the ventilation is insufficient.

Back in May I came up with the idea of an organisation providing ventilation and filtration advice, devices and support to LGBT+ venues and organisations. I never heard back from Feel Good Club about it either. I still think it's a good idea, but only if we can get people on board. I could fill my shed with home-made CR boxes and they'd be doing bugger-all use unless I can actually get them used in venues.

So far I haven't had any acknowledgement from Proud Trust or Sparkle, let alone response, which is disappointing. Having just one LGBT+ venue in Manchester which can be trusted to provide some level of protection would be a game changer for me personally and the LGBT+ community. We should be used to looking after ourselves while the Government ignores a fatal and debilitating pandemic, after all!

Comments

[otter]

wow, that's really distressing

[diffrentcolours]

It's a shame. I genuinely thought this one would be pushing at an open door, and I'm disappointed it hasn't worked out like that.

I have knowledge and skills and experience and I want to put them to use to keep my community safer. But I haven't found a way to do that.

[apiphile]

I loved the fact this policy existed, and would like to volunteer to help ensure that it's followed

That's such a diplomatic way of making sure it gets fixed, I love it

I offered help in various ways, from providing procedures and/or training to staff and volunteers; providing Corsi-Rosenthal boxes to improve air filtration; developing CO2 level monitoring solutions so people are alerted when the ventilation is insufficient.

!!

I could fill my shed with home-made CR boxes and they'd be doing bugger-all use unless I can actually get them used in venues.

It's unfortunate that people don't seem to want to take them up; I wonder if there's an element of denial involved.

[diffrentcolours]

Oh I had bright_helpings assist with the diplomacy before I sent the feedback. Originally I said that having a policy which wasn't followed was worse than no policy at all because it lulled people into a false sense of security. I still believe that to be true, but I was convinced I'd have more chance of a useful response if I didn't say it.

[apiphile]

He's right, but also your point is right.

[barakta]

Infuriating. I hate this when you offer help and to do most of the solving and still don't hear back. Even if they have no capacity to deal, it would be nice if they replied to say so, and they're big enough I believe to have some paid staff so it's not pure volunteer-run orgs.

I think it's OK to chase after a few weeks, again politely but say you're disappointed not have heard back and even if they can't take your offer on board, it would be useful to know one way or another and suggest they perhaps modify their policy to be more honest of reality. Possibly even break down what you'd need to install a CR box and what it'd take to run/use it in practice cos if it could be fitted and remain with a single on/off that'd be the easiest for everyone.