London LGBTIQA+ Community Housing Coalition launch Manifesto asking prospective next Mayor of London to commit to bettering lives of disadvantaged LGBTIQA+ people in the capital.

  • The manifesto contains recommended actions for the next Mayor of London to commit to that will make a significant difference to the lives of the most disadvantaged LGBTIQA+ people in the Capital.

  • One quarter of young people facing or experiencing homelessness identify as LGBTQ+, while a quarter (25%) of older LGBT+ Londoners have a disability or health issue that requires specific housing.

  • London LGBTIQA+ Community Housing Coalition (LLCHC) ask the next prospective Mayor of London to undertake to 7 key recommendations, including creating an LGBTIQA+ Housing Strategy for London.

  • LLCHC is formed of housing organisations; Albert Kennedy Trust (akt), Micro Rainbow, Outside Project, Stonewall Housing and Tonic Housing; and campaigning groups Consortium and Stonewall.

 

London LGBTIQA+ Community Housing Coalition (LLCHC), today publicly launched their Manifesto for London LGBTIQA+ Community Housing, as part of their engagement with the Mayoral Candidates ahead of the Mayoral Election 2021 Campaign next month.

LLCHC, made up of seven LGBTIQA+ community housing and campaigning organisations, have created the Manifesto to ensure that the lives of the communities they serve are not forgotten in key policies and commitments made by the prospective next Mayor of London. The manifesto recommends actions to commit that will make a significant difference to the lives of the most disadvantaged LGBTIQA+ people in the Capital.

There is currently  a chronic lack of provision for LGBTIQA+ community housing in London reflecting an absence of understanding the specific issues, needs and disadvantages that face many LGBTIQA+ citizens, most starkly shown with the number of LGBTIQA+ specific community housing bed spaces in the Capital, at just 77.

Nearly one in five LGBT people (18%) including 25% of trans people and 28% of LGBT disabled people, have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives, while almost one quarter of young people facing or experiencing homelessness identify as LGBTQ+. A quarter (25%) of older LGBT+ Londoners have a disability or health issue that required specific housing; 57% of whom had no care or support provision and 64% of whom said their housing did not meet their needs.

This has only been amplified in the last year due to the Coronavirus pandemic, with 61% of LGBT+ service providers and community groups seeing an increase in demand for their services.

  • The pandemic has also accelerated the drivers of LGBTQ+ youth homelessness, with akt seeing a 118% increase in new referrals to their services from April-August 2020, compared to the same time in 2019

  • 50% of LGBT+ older Londoners reported a negative impact on their psychological well-being and almost three out of ten (27%) said they hardly ever or never had some to talk to. [Opening Doors London]

 

LLCHC ask the next prospective Mayor of London to:

  1. Produce an LGBTIQA+ Housing Strategy for London.

  2. Work with local councils to build a London- wide support pathway of access to accommodation and support services for LGBTIQA+ people.

  3. Create a Greater London Authority portfolio role for LGBTIQA+ housing.

  4. Fund LGBTIQA+ awareness training for commissioners and delivery staff.

  5. Establish a coordinated approach to data collection to evidence need and impact.

  6. Embed community-led principles in all of these actions to ensure there is ‘Nothing about us without us’ with appropriate funding to facilitate this.

  7. Ensure that LGBTIQA+ housing and community organisations are meaningfully involved in the design and implementation of the London Recovery Programme.

 

Anna Kear, CEO, Tonic Housing said: “Tonic is proud to be a part of LLCHC, a collective of LGBTIQA+ community-led housing organisations that has come together to amplify our collective voice for change. Through our frontline community housing services and support, we are very aware of the real issues that many LGBTIQA+ people in London face. Working together, we’ve created this Manifesto to address the changes that we need to see, and help bring down the barriers that cause them, by raising awareness and working with the key organisations to make these positive changes.”

Matt Horwood, Director of Communications and Campaigns, akt said: “As London navigates through a post-covid landscape, the recommendations outlined in this manifesto for the next mayor are as timely as ever. akt is immensely proud of this manifesto and to be part of the LLCHC. By working together we have been able to raise awareness of the multiple layers of disadvantage that all LGBTIQA+ people in London encounter, but also identify real tangible solutions to address this. It is our hope that we can work constructively with the next Mayor of London, to implement these recommended actions which will undoubtedly better the lives of all LGBTIQA+ people in the capital.”

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