It’s been a year since we entered the first national lockdown. The pandemic and lockdowns have had a significant impact on LGBTQ+ young people, as well as other marginalised groups including Black people, people of colour and disabled people. Marginalised groups have not only dealt with the pandemic but also the rise of transphobic rhetoric in the media and spikes in racism. 

akt saw an 118% increase in referrals to our services during the first lockdown, compared to the same period in 2019. When Government Covid guidelines banned sofa surfing, many LGBTQ+ young people had no other option but rough sleeping or staying at home in hostile or abusive family environments. 

There are still challenges ahead, including the ban on evictions being lifted in July. It’s vital that we see stronger financial protections for private renters and a focus on preventing all forms of homelessness. We will continue our work to address this and be there for LGBTQ+ young people who need our support.

Thank you to all of our individual and corporate supporters over the year. Your generosity has allowed us to expand and adapt our services to help more young people than ever before. We also want to thank the journalists, editors and producers from outlets including gal-dem, Huff Post, DIVA and Sky News, who helped shed a vital light on the issues our young people face.

Finally, thank you to our incredible young people, akt’s frontline service staff and the wider community for continuing to inspire us every day. 

In the meantime, if you are a young person and need support, please make a referral. We are here for you. 

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