Honouring Lou Kelly's incredible legacy

Thank you for wanting to support Lou's whānau and the continuation of projects that were important to Lou, and the trans, queer, and autistic communities in Aotearoa.

A lot of people loved Lou, learnt from Lou, and were impacted by their mahi.

Lou was passionate about improving equity for our rainbow and trans communities within the perinatal and birthing space. Lou was a queer, trans, non-binary, autistic midwife and writer. They worked tirelessly to promote inclusion for pregnant people across Aotearoa. And were a force to be reckoned with, working on changing policies and educating health professionals on how to be more inclusive.

Lou worked closely with Arlene, and together they created LGBTQIA+ celebratory and inclusive antenatal classes taught in person in Tāmaki Makaurau. Lou also supported thousands of people across the motu with their @earthside.nz Instagram page.

Lou and Arlene had big plans for changing the landscape of birthing in 2023, including creating an online antenatal education course for LGBTQIA+ Takatāpui expecting parents. Lou was looking to begin their PhD and was in the process of creating a suite of inclusive guides to support whānau during the perinatal period.

Lou's whānau have requested the funds donated be held in trust by Women's Health Action Trust, where Lou worked as the Gender Diversity Lead. Donations will support Lou's whānau (and Lou's wider community) to continue projects that honour Lou's incredible legacy.