LGBT People Are 'Being Made Homeless Due To Religion'

Nearly half of young LGBT people who are left homeless after coming out are from religious backgrounds. That's according to research by the Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT), which supports young people who are at risk of homelessness. The charity says three in four LGBT people are rejected by their families - and 45% of that number are from a faith background. The Trust says the majority are from Muslim and Christian families. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-49150753

Rise In Homelessness Not Result Of Our Policies, Says Housing Secretary

Rising rough sleeping in Britain is not the result of government policy but is being driven by factors including the spread of psychoactive drugs such as spice, growth in non-UK nationals on the streets and family breakdown, the housing secretary, James Brokenshire, has claimed. The number of people sleeping rough has more than doubled since 2010 to 4,751 according to the government’s own figures. Brokenshire said “I see it as a combination of concerning elements in terms of addiction, family breakdown issues. The thing that struck me over recent months in speaking to some of the LGBT charities in terms of young people, because of their sexuality, being thrown out of home.” Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/dec/18/rising-homelessness-is-not-due-to-tory-policies-says-james-brokenshire

LGBT Young People ‘More Likely To Be Homeless’

Lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) young people are more likely to be homeless compared with their non-LGBT peers, a report has claimed.  According to the report by the Albert Kennedy Trust, the top three reasons for LGBT young people becoming homeless include parental rejection, abuse within the family and aggression and violence within the family.
 The report, which aimed to explore the experiences of LGBT young people aged between 16 and 25 in the UK, also found only 13 per cent of housing providers recognised the unique needs of LGBT young people, with only 3.9 per cent having fully implemented initiatives to address those needs.
Read more on the Children & Young People Now website.

Homelessness Charities Benefit From £2.8m Pot

Umbrella-group London Councils has handed over £2.8 million to eight projects tackling homelessness in the capital.  The cash from the grants committee is for two years for a range of schemes that are currently starting up.  Projects include one run by Stonewall Housing which provides specialist housing support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and a youth homelessness initiative run by New Horizon Youth Centre.  Read more on Inside Housing.

Service to Tackle LGBT Homelessness

The first multi-agency approach to helping reduce homelessness among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual young people has been set up. Jigsaw has been launched to provide a network of services for young people at risk of becoming homelessness. Users of the services will benefit from help such as specialist advice on housing, safety, emotional wellbeing, education, employment and training. Read the full story on the Inside Housing website.