London is getting its first permanent LGBT homeless shelter
The shelter will also act as a 'cultural and artistic hub' for the LGBT community
London will be getting its first permanent homeless shelter for LGBT people.
The new centre, organised by Stonewall Housing and The Outside Project, will provide a daytime community space and cafe as well as a night shelter, the Independent reports.
Organisers have said the shelter will be housed in a building “with a community centre at its heart” and will act as a “cultural and artistic hub”.
The news comes after the Outside Project ran a temporary LGBT+ homeless shelter inside a renovated tour bus last winter. Meanwhile, research by Stonewall in 2016 discovered that 25% of homeless people identify as LGBT.
Bob Green OBE, the chief executive of Stonewall Housing, said:”LGBT+ people are more at risk of sleeping on the street and often avoid mainstream services.”
He also said the shelter would help LGBT people find safe housing as well as a range of services and social networks where they can “celebrate their identity and achieve their full potential”.
Carla Ecola, the founder of the Outside Project, said: “The Outside Project strives to ensure that clients coming through our door are enabled to feel not only ‘safe’, but part of a family that will not judge any aspect of their lives and will share many of their own experiences and challenges”.
No location has been announced for the shelter, which is being funded by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s Rough Sleeping Innovation Fund, but it is expected to open this Autumn.