Creating a society that not only tolerates and accepts members of the LGBTQ+ community people but celebrates them for all they contribute to the island is the overriding mission of OutBermuda’s new executive director.

Joshua Samuels returned to his native Bermuda specifically to take up the role at the LGBTQ+ rights charity and said he would not have done so if he did not believe it was possible to realise such a vision.

He landed in August, just before Pride celebrations started, and found that although things have changed for the better since he left in 2014, there is still work to be done.

Mr Samuels, a gay Black Bermudian, told The Royal Gazette: “The reality we exist in here is that queer people, and by that I am speaking of those who do not identify as being straight and are members of the LGBTQ+ community, experience discrimination still and there is stigma attached to people’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

“The LGBTQ+ community is a diverse group of people; there are so many talents, insights and ideas.

“As the country becomes more inclusive, it makes for a stronger Bermuda.

“We have bullying in schools, discrimination around people not wanting to rent a house to a queer couple, people not being welcomed in their families ...

“There is a safety issue and I think it is something that many queer Bermudians struggle with. A lot of it is around emotional and psychological safety, and we can do a better job of providing this as a community.”

He added: “If I didn’t have hope that Bermuda could continue to grow and evolve, and become a society that is more inclusive, then I wouldn’t be in this role.”

OutBermuda runs programmes to help support people in the LGBTQ+ community, including OutLet — a safe space for those aged between 14 and 25 to meet — and a partnership with Solstice, which provides free therapy for queer people.

Mr Samuels said that in the works was Safe Zone training — sessions aimed at promoting inclusiveness within businesses and other organisations.

He explained: “This is a programme that is focused on developing organisations — businesses, community clubs, schools … creating safe, inclusive environments.

“We have done some of this with our Pride sponsors who have requested inclusion awareness sessions on how to be a good ally.

“Part of our strategy moving forward is about advocacy and education around helping Bermuda understand who queer people are, how they experience Bermuda and how it can be better.”

Mr Samuels has more than 20 years of global non-profit experience and a strong focus on advancing equity for marginalised groups.

He most recently worked with Mind, a British mental health charity, where he developed a new equity project while building a Black mental health collective.

“When we live in a society where there is general stigma around seeking mental health support, what we also recognise is that in Black communities that stigma is often greater,” Mr Samuels said.

“When someone is Black and queer, it can make it even more difficult to feel the freedom to seek out mental health support or even speak about it.

“Part of our plan for advocacy is around anti-stigma, not only providing one-on-one support to individuals, but changing the view in Bermuda around mental health.”

Mr Samuels is a former Christian pastor and is well aware of obstacles to acceptance within some church organisations on the island.

He added: “I left Bermuda ten years ago as a Christian pastor and I didn’t come out as gay until years after.

“I don’t think I would be where I am in my journey if I had stayed in Bermuda in that religious community.

“As well as there just being stigma around being gay or queer in Bermuda, I think it is even stronger and more intensified in religious communities and, for Bermuda specifically, the Christian Church.

“I am grateful to, and want to acknowledge, churches in Bermuda that do support queer people and are affirming of different sexual orientations.

“It still is evident that the wider church in Bermuda doesn’t support queer people and isn’t celebrating us. I think that is hugely damaging to people.”

Mr Samuels said: “I grew up feeling and believing that my sexuality was crooked, sinful and wrong, and that has a huge effect on my sense of self.

“I recognise that is still happening to people in Bermuda.

“My encouragement would be for people who are part of religious communities where they feel like being gay is wrong or sinful, to still take the step to know and understand the queer people around them, and to listen and learn.

“There is a lot we can learn from each other, even when we have different perspectives. Then we can really make progress.

“We would be open to have conversations with churches that are seeking to understand and to be more inclusive.”

He said it was “an honour and a privilege” to return to Bermuda and give back in his latest post.

In the role, Mr Samuels will oversee all aspects of OutBermuda’s operations, including leading key programmes, developing new initiatives, executing its fundraising plan as well as managing strategic planning, governance and administration.

He said: “For the past ten years I have been working with marginalised communities in the US and UK and it fuels me to be able to work like that and service people so they can reach their full potential even if they have been discriminated against.

“To be able to come and do that in my home country, it just adds an extra level of passion and desire to serve my country well.

“One of my strengths is an openness to listening and learning and seeing people for who they are and creating environments where people feel safe to express who they are.

“My experience has been with dealing with inequalities and social injustice, specifically around refugees and migrants who are often not welcomed in the countries that they find themselves in and then also my work around racial justice and systemic racism.

“That experience has taught me how to really see people and to listen to people so that they feel included and the societies we live in can be stronger.”