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Welcome to Stonewall Housing...Securing safer spaces for the LGBT communities We research and lobby at a strategic level on the housing issues affecting our communities. We are the only specialist housing support provider in England wholly dedicated to serving the LGBT communities. At the heart of our work is the aim to help LGBT people find a home they feel safe and secure in. Working with Stonewall Housing We are currently recruiting for a full-time Supported Housing Officer to join our Supported Housing Team. Please look at our Jobs Page for further details.
Stonewall Housing News Mayor of London's Housing Strategy Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, is consulting on his draft Housing Strategy and Stonewall Housing would like to hear your views as part of their response. Bob Green, Chief Executive of Stonewall Housing, doubts that the Housing Strategy will achieve the better outcomes for all that it hopes for. Rather this, the first ever London Mayor’s Housing Strategy, will be a missed opportunity and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people will continue to be in housing need. 50% of LGBT people who call the Stonewall Housing advice line each year state that their housing problem is directly related to their sexuality or gender identity. therefore, any housing strategy for London needs to take sexuality and gender identity into consideration if it aims to meet the housing needs of the 430,000 Londoners who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (based on the assumption that 5-7% are LGB). Stonewall Housing agrees that housing is unaffordable for the majority of people in London and that much needs to be done at a variety of levels to protect people from repossession and homelessness during these turbulent times. It welcomes that the housing strategy is about people and places rather than simply ‘bricks and mortar’ and the aims to design new neighbourhoods without the fear of crime is commendable. Stonewall Housing's key concerns are: EQUALITIES: The Mayor does not go far enough in this strategy in relation to protecting equality groups. There needs to be more mention of the particular needs of lesbians, gay men, bisexual people and transgender (LGBT) people, especially in the supporting Equality Impact Assessment document. The Mayor recognises that some groups of Londoners are disproportionately affected by the lack of affordable housing or face discrimination and need protection or new accommodation following harassment on the grounds of race and sexual orientation but he has missed a perfect opportunity to identify and meet the housing needs of LGBT people: ensuring those fleeing harassment and domestic abuse have access to emergency accommodation, and that asylum seekers and younger and older people within our communities have access to safe, supported accommodation instead of facing ignorance and harassment from current services. REGIONAL: The Mayor should develop the regional aspect of the London ousing Strategy. There is uncertainty about how the relationship between the Mayor and local authorities will operate in practice and currently many local authorities do not monitor the sexuality and gender identity of their residents. LGBT communities live in all London boroughs and until more is known about the numbers within each borough, the Mayor should introduce a regional focus to ensure their housing needs are met. The strategy could be read that the Mayor wants homeless people to return to the communities from where they came. This will not be possible for many LGBT people who are fleeing harassment, violence or abuse. HOME OWNERSHIP: There is too much reliance on home ownership in the housing strategy. There is a danger in encouraging people to buy a property they cannot afford, even on a shared ownership basis which can still be expensive and limit the choices to move if they need to do so in future. The strategy should encourage the building of more social rented accommodation rather than assume that everyone aspires to own their property, especially during the market downturn. Despite statements to the contrary, the strategy stigmatises those who social rent as second class citizens who should be grateful of public support rather than a tenure of choice, which is affordable, secure, well-managed and of high quality, which was it can become with investment. PRIVATE RENTED ACCOMMODATION: There is too much emphasis on the private rented sector in the strategy. It is often too expensive, of poor quality with insecure tenancy agreements. There needs to be more work done to improve the management, cost and security of this sector before it can be a viable option for many people. Stonewall Housing will be submitting a response to the Mayor about his draft Housing Strategy based on these points and it would like to hear your views about our comments and the strategy itself. Please send comments to us before Friday 21st August 2009 and we will try to incorporate them: info@stonewallhousing.org Look at Stonewall Housing's comments in more detail here: Response to Mayor of London's Draft Housing Strategy Call us if you want a hard copy of our comments: 020 7359 6242 Or join in the discussion on Stonewall Housing pages on Facebook, Gingerbeer and Transfriendly. You can read the Mayor’s Draft Housing Strategy here: www.london.gov.uk/mayor/housing/strategy/consultation.jsp Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) Equality and Diversity Advisory Group - chief executive Bob Green has been appointed to the above group, which will provide input for the HCA's Single Equality Scheme, which includes an action plan, within the next two years, for the agency's vision for the delivery of equality, diversity and cohesion. Housing options for LGBT people experiencing domestic abuse: This new guide can be found on our Factsheets page. Research: Stonewall Housing has recently been invovled in various projects published by other organisations. These include: research by the Tenants Services Authority; A report by National Aids Trust into housing and HIV; Filling in the Blanks, Galop's publication about LGBT Hate Crime in London; and Over Not out, by Refugee Support (part of the Metropolitan Support Trust) into LGBT asylum seekers. Over Not Out can be viewed online at www.refugeesupport.org.uk and you'll find Filling in the Blanks at www.galop.org.uk Annual Report: The annual report for 2007-2008 has now been completed and produced as a desk calendar. If you'd like a copy please contact us on 020 7359 6242. You can also view or download a copy on our Download Our Publications page. Management Committee Members Wanted! Stonewall Housing responds to recent consultation papers: Recent responses by Stonewall Housing to government consultation papers include: the EHRC grants scheme, the Mayor's Equality Framework, the new Equality Bill and the future funding priorities for the Big Lottery and the Equality and Human Rights Commission: see our Comments and Analysis page for further details. Oral History Project: Would you like to be involved in a ground breaking Oral History Project which is a joint project between Stonewall Housing and Galop? Would you like to share your experiences with us and help tell the story of LGBT people in London and the Part Stonewall Hosuing played in it. To find out more, take a look at www.galop.org.uk or contact Mark Hutin at Galop on 020 7704 6767, or email him at mark.hutin@galop.org.uk Other news: Stonewall Housing is now a member of the Voluntary Sector Forum Steering Group and continues to sit on the Mayor's Housing and Equality Group;assisting in the development of his Housing Strategy, out later this year.
Living with Stonewall Housing Our female waiting list for supported housing currently has some vacancies.
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2A Leroy House |
020 7359 6242 (main office) |
020 7359 5767 (advice) |
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Illustrations by Keith Burns |