Welcome to Belonging and Beyond: Exploring Belonging Through How We Live and Die, brought to you by Princess Alice Hospice with your hosts Rach Basak, Head of Community Involvement and Support and Sarah Dowd, Head of Inclusion.

In this series, we’ll have honest conversations about inclusion, belonging, and the barriers created in society for some. Together with guests from all walks of life, we’ll be unpacking big questions like: What does belonging look like? Who gets to belong? And how can we build communities where everyone feels seen and included?We are excited to be here and hope it sparks reflection, connection, and maybe even change.

In today's episode, we're joined by Blair Parrott and Jack Smith to talk about men's mental health, community, and the power of creating spaces where people feel they belong. From Andy's Man Club and Men's Pit Stop to green health and wellbeing initiatives, we explore how connection, purpose and peer support can help people feel seen, valued and less alone. We'll also hear about the importance of asking for help, giving back to others, and why small acts of connection can have a ripple effect across our communities.

If you would like to share your thoughts, views or be part of Belonging and Beyond please do get in touch at sarahdowd@pah.org.uk and rachaelbasak@pah.org.uk

Hosted and produced by Rachael Basak and Sarah Dowd

Produced by Sarah Dowd

Edited by Sarah Dowd and Elizabeth Lattimore

A gentle note for listeners: In this episode we briefly discuss suicide as part of a wider conversation about men's mental health and wellbeing. Please listen in a way that feels right for you.

Resources:
ANDYSMANCLUB - It's Okay To TalkMen's Pit Stop | Healthy SurreyGreen health and wellbeing | Healthy Surrey

Welcome to Belonging and Beyond: Exploring Belonging Through How We Live and Die, brought to you by Princess Alice Hospice with your hosts Rach Basak, Head of Community Involvement and Support and Sarah Dowd, Head of Inclusion.

In this series, we’ll have honest conversations about inclusion, belonging, and the barriers created in society for some. Together with guests from all walks of life, we’ll be unpacking big questions like: What does belonging look like? Who gets to belong? And how can we build communities where everyone feels seen and included? We are excited to be here and hope it sparks reflection, connection, and maybe even change.

Today, we’re really pleased to be joined by Maddy French, Maddy’s research explores differences in access to palliative care, and also looks at how the language we use can shape how people are understood and supported. In this episode, we’ll be talking about inequity in palliative care, and in particular, how ideas like “choice” show up in practice — and what happens when people don’t actually have the same options available to them.If you’d like to explore this further, you can access the toolkit developed from Maddy’s research here:

👉 https://lancasteruni.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9BwMd7nQev4Nooe?Q_CHL=qr

If you would like to share your thoughts, views or be part of Belonging and Beyond please do get in touch at sarahdowd@pah.org.uk and rachaelbasak@pah.org.uk Hosted and produced by Rachael Basak and Sarah DowdProduced by Sarah Dowd Edited by Sarah Dowd and Elizabeth Lattimore

Resources:

Toolkit Here:

https://lancasteruni.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9BwMd7nQev4Nooe?Q_CHL=qrTrauma-informed palliative care: A systematic scoping review of evidence sources describing concepts relevant to an emerging field of practice

Trauma Informed Care NHS Catalogue

Welcome to Belonging and Beyond: Exploring Belonging Through How We Live and Die, brought to you by Princess Alice Hospice with your hosts Rach Basak, Head of Community Involvement and Support and Sarah Dowd, Head of Inclusion.

In this series, we’ll have honest conversations about inclusion, belonging, and the barriers created in society for some. Together with guests from all walks of life, we’ll be unpacking big questions like: What does belonging look like? Who gets to belong? And how can we build communities where everyone feels seen and included?

We are excited to be here and hope it sparks reflection, connection, and maybe even change.

This month we’re really pleased to be joined by Carol from Age UK Richmond, and Harry, who is a member of the Rainbow Café community.

The Rainbow Café is a welcoming space for older LGBTQ+ people to come together, connect and just be themselves. It’s a place for friendship, support and belonging, and it’s making a real difference in people’s lives.

In this episode, we talk about why spaces like this matter, what belonging really means, and what we can all learn from creating communities where people feel safe, seen and included.

If you would like to share your thoughts, views or be part of Belonging and Beyond please do get in touch at sarahdowd@pah.org.uk and rachaelbasak@pah.org.uk

Hosted and produced by Rachael Basak and Sarah Dowd

Produced by Sarah Dowd

Edited by Sarah Dowd and Elizabeth Lattimore

Resources:

Age UK Richmond Rainbow Cafe

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/discover/2025/february/the-rainbow-cafe/

The Circle Project

https://research.kent.ac.uk/chss/research-projects/creating-inclusive-residential-care-for-lgbtq-elders-circle/

It’s more than rainbows in reception

https://www.nobarriershere.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Its-more-than-rainbows-in-receptions-Working-with-LGBTQ-People-in-Palliative-and-End-of-Life-Care-pdf.pdf

Not going in the care closet

https://queercircle.org/reflections/not-going-in-the-care-closet/

The Pitt on HBO

https://www.hbomax.com/gb/en/shows/pitt-2024/e6e7bad9-d48d-4434-b334-7c651ffc4bdf