A message from our CEO, Tag Warner – Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
By Tag Warner
Only a few months ago, we could not have imagined the impact that Coronavirus would be having on our lives today. At this time, we are aware and thoughtful of our LGBTQ+ and queer friends around the world. Many of us continue to live through daily challenges and uncertainty surrounding our identity. This global crisis only adds to that pressure.
We have been hard at work in response to the outbreak. Here are three areas where myself and the GAYTIMES team have responded quickly to ensure we continue to support LGBTQ+ people everywhere we can. It is our continued mission to bring you the latest updates, as well as offer an opportunity to temporarily escape some of the anxiety.
Many of us, including myself, live with mental health diversity and continue to face difficulties every day. I know how hard this can be. Our community has a strong history of working together to overcome unique challenges. Stay strong and reach out to your friends. Think about members of the community who might be particularly at risk. We will all emerge stronger together.
GAYTIMES Amplifund was founded to support LGBTQ+ media and activist organisations in challenging global environments. In the coming weeks, along with our underlying charity partner, GiveOut, we will be distributing resources to fund multiple LGBTQ+ organisations and projects in Western Asia, the Arabian Peninsula and the Caribbean.
For their own safety and security, we are not able to identify all of these organisations or projects. The Amplifund team is working quickly to get funding to these organisations so that they can continue their vital work – especially during a time of heightened uncertainty in their communities.
We are pleased to let you know that Gay Times Magazine will be shipped on time to 80+ countries around the world. While millions of us interact with GAYTIMES online and via social media every week, many thousands in our community continue to enjoy Gay Times Magazine. This includes countries where our digital media is blocked, so we recognise how important this publication is.
Our next issue (506) is currently being printed here in the UK and I want to thank everyone who has worked so hard to ensure the Coronavirus crisis has not impacted our continued publishing cycle.
We are well prepared to remain 'business as usual' for the coming challenging weeks. We have a brilliant team in place and continue to ensure we safeguard our staff's mental and physical wellbeing throughout this time. We had planned many exciting announcements in the coming weeks, some of which we will postpone in respect of the global climate.
We would like to assure you that we remain committed to bringing queer media and stories of hope to you, now more than ever. We will be pushing ahead with some of our exciting plans to keep us empowered, educated and uplifted during such a difficult time. We look forward to sharing these with you all soon.
Tag Warner
Please refer to the following resources for latest updates:
– US: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
– UK: Department of Health and Social Care
– Canada: Public Health Agency of Canada