SPECIALIST LGBT HOUSING AND ADVICE
For young LGBT people, experiences of homelessness can be exacerbated by their sexuality or gender identity. As well as the usual problems of finding somewhere to sleep, obtaining food, staying clean, sexual abuse and prostitution, and drug and alcohol abuse, that many young homeless people have to contend with, young LGBT people may also face the following:
- The emotional distress of rejection by family members because of their sexuality or gender identity
- Coming to terms with sexuality or gender identity in a society which is heterosexist, without proper support, which can lead to depression or other emotional or mental health problems
- Homophobia or transphobia by staff, service-users and other homeless people
- The invisibility of LGBT people within mainstream services, which may not acknowledge the existence of young LGBT people
Our specialist housing for young LGBT people aims to redress the problems associated with mainstream, heterosexist services. The benefits for our tenants include:
- Feeling safe from homophobic and transphobic violence and abuse
- Feeling accepted and sharing experiences with others
- Feeling able to be open and relaxed about their sexuality and gender identity
- Learning about LGBT life and having LGBT role models
If you consider that last year 91% of our tenants told us it is important for them to live in an LGBT space, it is clear that there is a very real need for the specialist housing service Stonewall Housing provides. As one of our tenants commented, living in Stonewall Housing supported accommodation is important to him “because others of the same sexual orientation know what I’m going through, and therefore they help when things get too much… because there are days when you feel the whole world’s against you”.
Click here to read some of our tenants’ stories.
Since the inception of our advice service in 1992, we have had over 10,000 enquiries from LGBT people in London looking for advice and assistance with their housing. Evidently, there is a demand for our service, a need that is not being met elsewhere.
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As an LGBT organisation, Stonewall Housing understands the needs and circumstances of LGBT people in housing difficulty. Our specialist Housing Advice Workers are able to provide advice that is specific, relevant to the needs of our clients, and based on our knowledge and experience of best practice in housing. Many people do not feel comfortable disclosing their sexuality or gender identity to mainstream organisations for fear of experiencing homophobia or transphobia. Yet being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender is absolutely relevant to housing. Homophobia is reported as the biggest single contributing factor to housing difficulty for our clients. Last year, over a quarter of the LGBT people who came to us for housing advice experienced violence or harassment in or around their home. And half believed that their housing problems were a direct result of their sexuality.
If an advisor has not ascertained that their client is lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, or has assumed they are heterosexual, they will not be able to give the best assistance in these cases. So, having an LGBT organisation to turn to for housing advice can mean the difference between appropriate advice, based on disclosure of sexuality or being transgender, and inappropriate advice not based on the full picture.
Click here to read some of our advice clients' stories.
In a climate where there is still so much homophobia and transphobia on both an individual and institutional level, we believe that the housing and advice we provide exclusively for LGBT people are essential. We work hard to help LGBT people find safer spaces to live and thrive in, and to combat the homophobia and transphobia that we daily see is still rife in the housing sector and the wider community.
Further information:
Gold, D (2005), Sexual Exclusion: issues and best practice in lesbian, gay and bisexual housing and homelessness, Shelter
Click here to download
O’Connor, W and Molloy, D (2000), ‘Hidden in Plain Sight’: Homelessness amongst Lesbian and Gay Youth, National Centre for Social Research
Click here to purchase from National Centre for Social Research
Stonewall Housing and National Centre for Social Research (2001), Meeting the needs of homeless lesbian and gay youth
Click here to download
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HOUSING AND LGBT DOMESTIC ABUSE
Much has been achieved in the last three decades. The silence around domestic abuse has slowly been broken and it is now accepted by most people that domestic abuse can affect people of every background, culture, class, religion, gender, and sexuality. In past decades, if a woman approached the police to report violence by a male partner, she probably would have been told it wasn’t their problem. It would have been inconceivable that a person in a same-sex relationship would have reported domestic abuse. These days the police take domestic abuse in heterosexual and LGBT relationships more seriously, and run campaigns specifically raising awareness of domestic abuse in the LGBT communities.
Domestic abuse is a significant problem in the LGBT communities. According to the Dyn Project, 1 in 4 LGBT people will experience domestic abuse at some point in their lives. Research carried out by the University of Southampton in Brighton in 2000 found that 1 in 3 people asked had experienced violence in the home, 62% of which was characterised by respondents as domestic abuse. Stonewall Housing is committed to securing safer spaces for LGBT people. We work with LGBT survivors of domestic abuse to help them find housing options that are suitable for them, so that they no longer have to feel unsafe at home.
Click here to read our full article on how domestic abuse affects the LGBT communities.
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