The journey for LGBTQ+ rights so far has been a long one, but it is one that is ongoing. We can celebrate amazing achievements such as rights to marriage and adoption There remain tension points that are relevant to the social housing sector.
Homelessness is more prevalent among young LGBTQ+ people. Older tenants can feel forced back into the closet with a move into supported living or +55 schemes. Anti-social behaviour is targeted at people who are LGBTQ+.
At SHM we want to ensure the challenges of LGBTQ+ people are named and understood and we want to contribute by discussing how we can make our homes and services welcoming. So this month we are putting a call or for articles on this topic.
We are especially interested in critical research papers, articles about the actions taken, lessons learned, and improvements made to the lives of LGBTQ+ people, and we want to hear about the experiences of LGBTQ+ tenants and applicants, as well as members of staff, and/or board members and their ideas for how we as a sector can do better in this area.
If you want to contribute to helping to make social housing better for our LGBTQ+ friends, family, tenants and colleagues, message us at hello@socialhousingmatters.co.uk with your experiences, ideas, stories, frustrations and learnings; anything that can help us continue the journey.
Happy to support and contribute an article sometime.
I started in Housing 40 years ago and came out just 35 years ago…an interesting journey. I have never felt defined by being gay as for me it’s just one aspect of me. I have always been open about it since coming out, but haven’t made an issue of it. I think it’s about time I started to make it an issue! Never too old to learn, change and grow.
Thanks so much Gordon! (also, hurray, a non-spam comment!)
It is always so brilliant to hear if people have been lucky enough to live their lives the way they want it without feeling limited or judge, but yes, so many people are, and that’s why we want to bring that more to the forefront here. There’s no need to submit something tomorrow, but if you can think of something any time, really, we’d love to hear from you!