The state of LGBT+ Homelessness in the UK today reflects key failures in the Government’s Rough Sleeping Strategy.
More Common
While homelessness is an area of policy that is notoriously hard to gather evidence for, available data indicates that LGBT+ people are disproportionately more likely to experience homelessness, housing instability, and rough sleeping. One 2018 report, which surveyed 5,000 LGBT+ people living in the UK, found that one in five (18 per cent) LGBT+ people have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives, a number that increases to almost three in ten for disabled LGBT+ people, and one in four for trans people[1]. Further research from Centrepoint found that in 2018, 103,000 young people in England were at risk of homelessness, and it is estimated that 24 per cent of these people identify as LGBT+[2]. Clearly, no matter how wide-ranging or narrow the definition of ‘homelessness’, “LGBTQ+ people are amongst the most vulnerable and over-represented young people at risk of homelessness”[3].
Not only are LGBT+ people more likely to experience homelessness, but there is wide-ranging evidence to suggest that LGBT+ experiences of homelessness differ significantly from those of their cis, heterosexual counterparts.
While family rejection is the leading cause of homelessness more widely, among those identifying as LGBT+, this is even more pronounced. Research from the Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT) has found that 77 per cent of LGBT+ homeless people said that familial estrangement after coming out as LGBT+ was the primary cause of their homelessness[4]. This is a particularly troublesome statistic, as the absence of familial support systems can often be a cause of prolonged homelessness. Indeed, just 13 per cent of homeless LGBT+ people between the ages of 16-25 felt supported by their (step)parents while homeless[5]. This number falls to 8 per cent for those who are trans[6].
Once homeless, there is a clear evidence base that LGBT+ people are more likely to be subject to physical violence, which subsequently puts LGBT+ homeless people at greater risk of suffering from physical and mental health conditions[7]. Additionally, LGBT+ homeless people are disproportionately more likely to engage in sex work, or other forms of ‘survival sex’, wherein homeless people use sex to meet their basic needs. Here, recent research from AKT found that, 16 per cent of young LGBT+ homeless people engaged in sex work as a direct impact of their homelessness, while 17 per cent felt that they had to have casual sex to find somewhere to stay while they were homeless[8]. Consequently, LGBT+ people are at much greater risk of sexual abuse and contracting sexually transmitted infections while homeless[9].
It is also worth noting here that while homelessness is an area of policy in which almost all attention is dedicated to large cities and towns, rural homelessness remains a significant issue. Homelessness is an issue that is generally absent in people’s understanding of rural life. Indeed, it is a problem often invisible to most, with individuals likely to sleep in alternative countryside locations including outhouses, barns, tents, and parked cars. It is often under-reported, with a large proportion of the rural homeless coming under the ‘hidden homeless’ moniker[10]. As such, for rural LGBT+ homeless people, this further invisibility only compounds the problems policymakers face for a community who are less likely to be visible in statistics even in densely populated urban areas.
LGBT+ people are not only more at risk of homelessness and rough sleeping, but they experience them in materially different ways. Accordingly, a blanket, one-size-fits-all approach is demonstrably inappropriate. LGBT+ people will often have different needs that must be considered and addressed by policymakers and service providers.
More Hidden
These problems are only compounded by the fact that LGBT+ homeless people are much less likely to access housing services than cis-heterosexual homeless people.
Whether due to a distrust of available services, fear of discrimination at the point of access, or even a lack of awareness of available services, the result is that homeless LGBT+ people are more likely to seek help from friends than service providers. Indeed, 74 per cent of LGBT+ people sought support from friends while homeless[11]. This dynamic of ‘sofa-surfing’ has been particularly precarious during the pandemic, with evolving lockdown and support bubble rules forcing some who were ‘sofa-surfing’ into life on the street[12]. This tendency to seek support from friends means that a lower proportion of LGBT+ homeless people present to housing support services, whether from local authorities or from community organisations. Of those surveyed by AKT, less than half (44 per cent) of LGBT+ young people were aware of housing support services, while 24 per cent were not aware of any support services available to them[13]. Consequently, LGBT+ homeless people can often fall into the category of ‘hidden homeless’, wherein they are invisible to statistics, meaning that figures on the numbers of LGBT+ homeless people are likely to be underreported, hindering efforts to understand the scale of the problem, commission services, or develop appropriate policy interventions[14].
When LGBT+ people access housing services, they are generally less likely to have positive experiences, with only 56 per cent satisfaction with the support they receive[15]. Reasons for such negative experiences include a lack of LGBT+ specific understanding from frontline staff, widespread assumptions of heterosexuality, from service providers and for 59 per cent of respondents, facing some form of discrimination while accessing these services[16]. Resultingly, some individuals disengage entirely and leave the service before they receive proper support.
When LGBT+ homeless people do not access support services, it renders the available data murky, and this is only exacerbated by the failures in data collection when they do present to services. Here, there are generally two issues. Firstly, frontline staff, or indeed commissioners may not think that inquiring about service users’ sexual orientation or gender identity is relevant and therefore may not collect this data when supporting individuals. Indeed, only 35 per cent of young LGBT+ people who have accessed a service while homeless recall being asked to provide information about their sexual orientation or gender identity[17]. Secondly, even when they do ask, LGBT+ service users may be reluctant to disclose this information. This may be because they themselves think it doesn’t matter, or because they fear it will lead to discriminatory treatment, particularly because, as mentioned previously, for many LGBT+ people, rejection after outing themselves was the primary cause for their homelessness. Indeed, this is not a theoretical issue, research by The Outside Project, surveying data from London homelessness services found that, after ‘heterosexual’, the most selected sexual orientation was ‘prefer not to say’[18].
The lack of data has two important implications. For policymakers, it makes it more difficult to commission and develop appropriate services at local, regional and national levels, as the evidence base remains insufficient. Simultaneously, at the individual case level, this incomplete understanding means that service users are much less likely to get the support they need, that is tailored and considerate of their LGBT+ identity and the specific needs this may bring. For instance, for trans people referred to temporary accommodation, they may need specific arrangements that consider their health needs if they are undergoing hormone therapy. Without a proper understanding of this, it is unlikely that service users will receive treatment that is appropriate for their circumstances. As such, there is a clear imperative for more thorough and sensitive data collection methodologies within housing services that make transparent the reason for asking and encourage equivalent openness from service users.
However, improving LGBT+ engagement with support services will require more than re-tuned questionnaires. Where local authorities and other housing service providers have offered LGBT+ specific services, reports have been very positive both in terms of engagement and experience. In 2019, the UK’s first permanent LGBT+ exclusive homeless shelter opened in London, complete with housing facilities and a community centre. Created by the Outside Project, it provides identity-responsive housing and space for LGBT+ homeless people, with ‘knowledge by experience’ peer-led support for LGBT+ people in crisis[19]. As the project is LGBT+ specific, LGBT+ people who may have previously experienced discrimination from service providers or be fearful of discrimination from other service users are offered a safe space, in which they are able to build up their confidence.
However, LGBT+ specific homelessness services are generally outliers. The vast majority of local authority housing services do not have LGBT+ specific provisions. One survey of local authority and third sector housing service providers in Wales found that 93 per cent of respondents did not provide specific services for LGBT people[20]. For organisations without the resources to fund such programmes internally, establishing links to specialist services such as third sector LGBT+ organisations, may be more realistic. The same survey found that 51 per cent of respondents had established referral pathways with specialist LGBT+ services[21]. Additionally, organisations such as Stonewall Housing provide consultation, training and workshops for local authorities, and other organisations providing housing services[22].
As well as establishing these services, there is the important task of displaying this publicly to LGBT+ service users and making it clear that they will have access to bespoke provision, and essentially advertising that the service provider is LGBT+ inclusive. Whether online, or through leaflets and flyers, this activity has the potential to make LGBT+ people more comfortable in disclosing information about their sexual orientation or gender identity, if they are confident that the service is LGBT+ inclusive.
More Neglected
The most comprehensive policy package on homelessness from the Government has come in the form of the National Rough Sleeping Strategy[23], published in 2018. On the topic of LGBT+ homelessness, this states:
“We recognise that there are gaps in our understanding. We are told by the sector that LGBT individuals are more at risk of homelessness and rough sleeping. This is particularly the case among young people…we want to understand this better and we set out measures to address both of these issues in the strategy”[24].
Given the limited evidence base on the topic, the strategy says that the Government will conduct research into LGBT homelessness and “will set out further concrete steps to address the issues of LGBT homelessness in the first yearly refresh of the strategy”[25]. The problem, however, is that the research mentioned in the strategy is research to be conducted in collaboration with the Government Equalities Office (GEO) under the LGBT Action plan. However, the GEO has since abandoned the LGBT Action Plan[26]. As such, the Government’s strategy on LGBT+ homelessness relies on a policy programme which no longer exists. Indeed, there is nothing in the Rough Sleeping Strategy pertaining to LGBT+ homelessness that is independent of the LGBT Action Plan, thus leaving a policy void.
The Action Plan itself promises an audit of existing service provision for LGBT+ homeless people, as well as the production of non-statutory guidance for local authorities on supporting LGBT+ homeless people and qualitative research into the experiences of LGBT homeless people[27]. The most recent statement on these goals came on 15th March 2021, when the Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing, Eddie Hughes MP indicated that the research was still taking place[28]. However, to date, nothing has been published.
While this policy gap around LGBT+ homelessness is alarming, it could have easily been avoided. The Rough Sleeping Strategy promises that the Department “will be refreshing this strategy on an annual basis, setting out the progress we have made and ensuring that our offer remains targeted”[29], however in the three and a half years since the strategy was first published, no ‘annual’ refreshes have been produced. Had a refresh been conducted, this clear gap around LGBT+ homelessness could have been addressed to include policy that does not rely on an abandoned programme of work.
With no audit conducted, there is a very patchy understanding of what LGBT+ provision exists across the UK in this area, and due to the absence of the promised non-statutory guidance on the topic, this is only compounded by the limited consistency between service providers for LGBT+ homeless people. The ongoing need to address this gap is clear and LGBT+ homelessness strategy occupied an important place in the Kerslake Commission, published in September 2021. Among other things, the Commission recommended that the Government commission further research on groups experiencing homelessness with further lenses of disadvantage, including women, LGBT+ people, ethnic minorities and youth[30]. Indeed, the report makes note of the fact, even when it comes to campaigns widely considered to be successful, such as the ‘Everyone In’ response, existing provision is often generic in nature, without appropriate provision for LGBT+ specific needs. In particular, the report found that “some young LGBTQ+ people did not feel safe in emergency accommodation.[31]” Further to this, there are legitimate questions to be asked around how effective the ‘Everyone In’ programme was in reaching ‘hidden homeless’, a category that LGBT+ homeless people are more likely to fall into. As the focus of ‘Everyone In’ was placed primarily on bringing in people who were already engaged by big charities and local authority services, those who were not reached were often LGBT+ ‘hidden homeless’, and those with no recourse to public funds.
A Call to Action
As the previous section indicates, there exists a significant gap in LGBT+ homelessness policy at the national level. While the LGBT+ Action Plan promised an audit of existing service provision for LGBT+ homeless provision, the plan was abandoned before this could be conducted. This uncertainty around provision, in conjunction with unclear data on LGBT+ service users, means that understanding of the issue is generally rather piecemeal. The evidence we do have however, indicates that the generally ‘one size fits all’ approach of service providers can compound inequalities, confusing equality of treatment with equality of outcomes for service users.
With the LGBT+ Action Plan abandoned, it is incumbent upon the Department for Levelling-up, Housing, and Communities to re-establish a clear policy agenda on LGBT+ homelessness. The audit of existing provision and the production of non-statutory guidance for local authorities would be a good start, however the housing and rough sleeping picture is constantly evolving and will require an ongoing programme of research and policy revision to be truly effective.
[1] Stonewall, 2018. LGBT in Britain: Home and Communities. [online] Available at: <https://www.stonewall.org.uk/lgbt-britain-home-and-communities#:~:text=LGBT%20in%20Britain%20-%20Home%20and%20Communities%20Report,per%20cent%29%20face%20discrimination%20within%20the%20LGBT%20community.> [Accessed 20 January 2022]
[2] Centrepoint, 2018. Making homeless young people count: The scale of youth homelessness in the UK. [online] Available at: <https://centrepoint.org.uk/media/3069/making-homeless-young-people-count.pdf> [Accessed 21 January 2022]
[3] Albert Kennedy Trust, 2019. General Election 2019: akt Manifesto. [online] akt. Available at: <https://www.akt.org.uk/news/ge19> [Accessed 25 January 2022]
[4] Albert Kennedy Trust, 2015. LGBT youth homelessness: a UK national scoping of cause, prevalence, response and outcome. [online] Available at: <https://www.evidence.nhs.uk/document?id=1789865&returnUrl=search%3Fpa%3D3%26ps%3D40%26q%3Dkennedy%2Breport> [Accessed 20 January 2022]
[5] Albert Kennedy Trust, 2021. the lgbtq+ youth homelessness report. [online] Available at: <https://www.akt.org.uk/report> [Accessed 22 January 2022]
[6] Albert Kennedy Trust, 2021. the lgbtq+ youth homelessness report. [online] Available at: <https://www.akt.org.uk/report> [Accessed 22 January 2022]
[7] Albert Kennedy Trust, 2015. LGBT youth homelessness: a UK national scoping of cause, prevalence, response and outcome. [online] Available at:<https://www.evidence.nhs.uk/document?id=1789865&returnUrl=search%3Fpa%3D3%26ps%3D40%26q%3Dkennedy%2Breport> [Accessed 20 January 2022]
[8] Albert Kennedy Trust, 2021. the lgbtq+ youth homelessness report. [online] Available at: <https://www.akt.org.uk/report> [Accessed 22 January 2022].
[9] Llamau, 2019. Out on the Streets – LGBTQ+ Homelessness in Wales. [online] Available at: <https://www.llamau.org.uk/out-on-the-streets> [Accessed 21 January 2022]
[10] Rural Services Network, 2017. Rural homelessness – an invisible issue?. [online] Rsnonline.org.uk. Available at: <https://www.rsnonline.org.uk/rural-homelessness-an-invisible-issue> [Accessed 22 January 2022]
[11] Albert Kennedy Trust, 2021. the lgbtq+ youth homelessness report. [online] Available at: <https://www.akt.org.uk/report> [Accessed 22 January 2022]
[12] Milton, J., 2021. Government urged not to cut ‘vital lifeline’ to vulnerable homeless LGBT+ youth during winter lockdown. [online] PinkNews. Available at: <https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/01/06/lgbt-homeless-coronavirus-charities-everyone-in/> [Accessed 21 January 2022]
[13] Albert Kennedy Trust, 2021. the lgbtq+ youth homelessness report. [online] Available at: <https://www.akt.org.uk/report> [Accessed 22 January 2022]
[14] The Kerslake Commission on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping, 2021. A new way of working: ending rough sleeping together. [online] Available at: <https://www.commissiononroughsleeping.org/> [Accessed 20 January 2022].
[15] Albert Kennedy Trust, 2021. the lgbtq+ youth homelessness report. [online] Available at: <https://www.akt.org.uk/report> [Accessed 22 January 2022]
[16] Albert Kennedy Trust, 2021. the lgbtq+ youth homelessness report. [online] Available at: <https://www.akt.org.uk/report> [Accessed 22 January 2022]
[17] Albert Kennedy Trust, 2021. the lgbtq+ youth homelessness report. [online] Available at: <https://www.akt.org.uk/report> [Accessed 22 January 2022]
[18] Homeless Link, 2020. Supporting LGBTIQ+ people in homelessness services: An introduction for frontline staff. [online] Available at: <https://www.homeless.org.uk/sites/default/files/site-attachments/Supporting%20LGBTIQ%2B%20people%20in%20homelessness%20services%20June2020.pdf> [Accessed 22 January 2022]
[19] The Outside Project, 2022. The Outside Project. [online] The Outside Project. Available at: <https://lgbtiqoutside.org/> [Accessed 22 January 2022]
[20] Llamau, 2019. Out on the Streets – LGBTQ+ Homelessness in Wales. [online] Available at: <https://www.llamau.org.uk/out-on-the-streets> [Accessed 21 January 2022]
[21] Llamau, 2019. Out on the Streets – LGBTQ+ Homelessness in Wales. [online] Available at: <https://www.llamau.org.uk/out-on-the-streets> [Accessed 21 January 2022]
[22] Stonewall Housing, 2022. Services Training. [online] Stonewall Housing. Available at: <https://stonewallhousing.org/training/> [Accessed 25 January 2022]
[23] Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, 2018. The Rough Sleeping Strategy. [online] Available at: <https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-rough-sleeping-strategy> [Accessed 20 January 2022]
[24] Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, 2018. The Rough Sleeping Strategy. [online] Available at: <https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-rough-sleeping-strategy> [Accessed 20 January 2022]
[25] Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, 2018. The Rough Sleeping Strategy. [online] Available at: <https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-rough-sleeping-strategy> [Accessed 20 January 2022]
[26] Parsons, V., 2021. Liz Truss suggests government’s LGBT+ action plan has been scrapped. [online] PinkNews. Available at: <https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/05/25/lgbt-action-plan-liz-truss-tory-women-equalities/> [Accessed 20 January 2022]
[27] Government Equalities Office, 2018. LGBT Action Plan: Improving the lives of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people. [online] Available at: <https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lgbt-action-plan-2018-improving-the-lives-of-lesbian-gay-bisexual-and-transgender-people> [Accessed 20 January 2022]
[28] Hughes, E., 2021. Nickie Allen: Written Questions. [online] Available at: <https://members.parliament.uk/member/4741/writtenquestions?page=2#expand-1300145> [Accessed 22 January 2022]
[29] Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, 2018. The Rough Sleeping Strategy. [online] Available at: <https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-rough-sleeping-strategy> [Accessed 20 January 2022]
[30] The Kerslake Commission on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping, 2021. A new way of working: ending rough sleeping together. [online] Available at: <https://www.commissiononroughsleeping.org/> [Accessed 20 January 2022]
[31] The Kerslake Commission on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping, 2021. A new way of working: ending rough sleeping together. [online] Available at: <https://www.commissiononroughsleeping.org/> [Accessed 20 January 2022]