Imagine losing your home, just because of who you are.
akt (The Albert Kennedy Trust) is the national charity for LGBTQ+ youth homelessness. We exist to help LGBTQ+ young people who are homeless, facing homelessness or unsafe at home, simply because of their sexuality or identity.
akt recently commissioned academic research from the University of Kent, which was co-created with young people themselves, to build the first in-depth picture of its kind into LGBTQ+ youth homelessness in the UK.
We discovered that, for far too many young LGBTQ+ people in the UK today, home is not always a safe place. 1 in 4 LGBTQ+ people aged 16-25 report having experienced homelessness. LGBTQ+ individuals are twice as likely to experience hidden forms of homelessness – sofa-surfing, staying with strangers, or squatting – compared to their non-LGBTQ+ peers. The percentage of LGBTQ+ young people experiencing homelessness far outweighs their relative proportion of the population.
These forms of hidden homelessness are not always visible, but the impacts are profound. Young people can find themselves in unsafe environments, at risk of exploitation, or in situations where they are forced to hide their identity to survive. Without stable housing, it becomes almost impossible to focus on education, employment, or mental health.
Despite the scale of the problem, our research shows that LGBTQ+ young people lack specialist support and often feel let down by mainstream services. Few housing services cater specifically to LGBTQ+ young people (10% exclusively, 5% predominantly), while mainstream services lack knowledge and prioritisation (41% don’t see it as a priority).
For example, many LGBTQ+ young people experiencing homelessness have also experienced familial domestic abuse but are not always considered for priority status in housing applications as the abuse can be difficult to evidence, or authorities have not considered LGBTQ+ domestic abuse in their assessment.
So, what can organisations do for young people facing these issues?
We work in partnership with hundreds of organisations across the UK, including as a Homewards Sector Partner, to spread awareness of this key issue. Cross-sector work between housing authorities, social services, domestic abuse services and LGBTQ+ support services is vital to improve support for LGBTQ+ youth. Data is also imperative – data collection should focus on the different types of homelessness, including hidden homelessness, which is found to be a large problem among young LGBTQ+ people.
As we mark Pride Month, it’s vital to remember that too many LGBTQ+ young people still have no safe place to call home. However, by raising awareness of these issues, we can build understanding, drive change, and create a future where every LGBTQ+ young person has a safe place to thrive.
