Why are so many young LGBTQ+ people in the UK homeless?

‘If you’ve been rejected because you’ve come out at home, can’t you go back in the closet and not talk about it?’

This is what a homeless LGBTQ+ young person was once told by an aid worker at a shelter who was meant to support them, Adam Pemberton Wickham, the chief executive of the charity akt, tells Metro.

Sadly the youngster is not alone. Adam, who works for the world’s first LGBTQ+ youth homelessness charity which is a Metro Pride Awards nominee, said he’d heard it all at that point.

‘We’ve heard stories of people being misgendered,’ he explains. ‘There are stories of people being insensitive at best, lacking awareness and being actively hostile.’

These stories, while uncommon, capture how ‘little priority is given to addressing the needs of LGBTQ+ people’ in the UK.

Something Adam and his team are determined to change.

Homelessness is a crisis born of crises, which include injury, job loss, domestic abuse, mental illness, a lack of social or affordable housing, jacked-up rents and substance misuse.

But young LGBTQ+ people face additional reasons why they may end up homeless, Adam said.

He tells Metro the exact figures on the number of queer people experiencing homelessness are next to non-existent, something even the government has admitted to.

On any given night, nearly 3,900 people may be sleeping rough in England. At least 324,990 people were assessed by their local authorities to be homeless in England last year, according to official figures.

Across the UK, it’s estimated almost 136,000 young people aged 16-24 were homeless or at risk of homelessness in 2022/23. Of them, nearly a quarter are LGBTQ+, according to akt.

‘Though there have been many advances in the kind of lived experience of LGBTQ+ young people in recent decades, the fact is young LGBTQ+ people still face increased risks of losing their home – particularly when you add intersectionality into it as well,’ he said.

Intersectionality refers to the way different forms of discrimination like racism, sexism and homophobia overlap and affect people. Trans people and queer people of colour are disproportionately affected by homelessness, for example.

Queer young people may become homeless for different reasons than straight or cisgender people, Adam said.

Among them, akt has found, 77% of LGBTQ+ young people gave ‘family rejection, abuse or being asked to leave home’ as a cause.

‘So it’s not that they’re becoming homeless because of drugs or poverty,’ Adam said. ‘There are different reasons LGBTQ+ people become homeless compared to straight people.

‘Many of the young people who come to us have had issues with familial and partner domestic abuse and violence. Some have issues around self-esteem, wellbeing and personal safety.

‘Every young person comes to us with a different story. They have been thrown out of their home or are at risk of that, or living in an environment where they don’t feel welcome or safe.

‘Family estrangement can happen suddenly after a young person comes out or talks to a family member about questioning their identity.

‘This is felt very deeply. They’re being rejected for who they are by the people they would think love them the most.

‘No young person should ever have to choose between a safe home and being who they are. But far too many young people are having to make exactly this choice.’

There is no one way to experience homelessness, Adam added. ‘Hidden’ forms of homelessness can include sofa-surfing for months on end or living somewhere they don’t feel safe at all.

Some of the hundreds of people akt has supported include those living in temporary housing – think rooms in a shared house or a flat from a landlord offered by the council.

‘Everyone wants a long-term base, somewhere they can call home and feel settled,’ Adam said, pointing to a rental market marked by sky-high rents and equally sky-high demand.

For homelessness services providers like akt, the goal isn’t just helping vulnerable people get a roof over their heads.

‘It’s about supporting them so they’re in a position to not only survive, but thrive.’

For one, akt offers service users ‘Rainbow Starter Packs’ which help them cover their deposit and first month’s rent on a new home as well as costs like travel cards, food shops and utility bills.

‘But it’s also about helping people with skills – how to budget, how to cook – and deal with all the life admin we all have. We all have to learn when we move into adulthood,’ Adam said.

When faced with homelessness, akt said 35% sought support from their local authority, while 45% tried community organisations.

Understanding what queer young people experience to vital to supporting them when they fall homeless, Adam said. Some government officials and non-profits don’t, so instead ‘fall back on what they know’.

These stories of discrimination within homelessness support networks, while uncommon, captures how akt, a charity with some 56 employees and 141 volunteers, can’t do it all, Adam said.

At least, right now.

‘The idea is to change the system, change the world so everyone looks after LGBTQ+ young people better,’ Adam said.

‘Our dream is to be a resource. We can only do so much.

‘I like to say akt is a small but mighty charity. In terms of awareness and support of the charity, it’s really positive. But if we could expand, we could do so much more.’

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