November 2025: Monthly Roundup
- LonGBoaT Wakefield
- Dec 3, 2025
- 3 min read
November was a busy and meaningful month for LonGBoaT Wakefield, with activity across arts, community safety, social spaces and organisational support. As always, our focus has been on making Wakefield a place where LGBT+ people feel welcome, supported and able to take up space with confidence.
In late November we were proud to be part of Wakefield’s Reclaim the Night march. Ahead of the event, our Queer Social group attended a banner-making session at Wakefield Library, giving people the chance to create something personal and visible before taking to the streets.
On the night itself, our stall was a place to talk about the work we do year-round, from social groups and family support to the Safe Space Scheme and our Station Adoption project. We also launched a photography competition to capture the atmosphere of the march and the strength of the community presence.
Events like Reclaim the Night matter because LGBT+ people are still more likely to experience harassment in public spaces. Being visible together sends a clear message that safety and dignity should never be optional.
Wakefield Kirkgate Railway Station once again became a cultural space during November’s Wakefield Art Walk. Helen Brook’s installation Emergence took centre stage in the main foyer, exploring themes of growth and transformation in a setting used by thousands of people each week. Alongside this, our Community Gallery hosted work by members of the Pontefract Art Club, showing how shared creative spaces can bring different parts of the community together.
Access to art in everyday places is especially important for LGBT+ people, whose stories and experiences have often been overlooked or marginalised. Projects like this help normalise creativity, difference and expression as part of public life.
Our Safe Space Scheme continued to grow throughout November. We were delighted to welcome Prince of Wales Hospice, Second Chance Headway, and The Art Exchange to the scheme. They joined existing Safe Space members The New Union and CoffeeWrite, helping to build a visible network of places where LGBT+ people know they will be treated with respect.
The Safe Space Scheme is about more than stickers in windows. It’s about reassurance, accountability and making everyday environments feel less risky for people who are too often made to feel out of place. Any business or organisation in the Wakefield district can apply to join, with full details available here.
November also saw the launch of our Policy Review Service. This offers organisations the opportunity to have their policies reviewed through an LGBT+ inclusion lens, informed by lived experience as well as good practice. Clear, inclusive policies are one of the foundations of safer workplaces and services, and this service allows organisations to strengthen what they already do.
We rounded off the month with a Halloween social at The New Union. These social nights are an important part of our work, providing relaxed environments where LGBT+ people can meet, laugh and connect without having to explain or justify who they are.
Looking Ahead
November showed how much can happen when community, creativity and care come together. From public marches to quiet conversations over coffee, every part of this work helps build a Wakefield where LGBT+ people are not just present, but valued.
If your organisation would like to be part of that change, you can find out more about joining the Safe Spa
ce Scheme here:https://www.longboatwakefield.org/safespace
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