Why housing support for LGBTQ+ people matters every day of the year

For Pride Month 2026, Jamie Richardson, Communications Manager at Stonewall Housing, highlights why housing support is integral for the LGBTQ+ community and explains what we can do to support residents.

For most people, home means safety. But, for many Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer+ (LGBTQ+) people that feeling of safety has never been a given. 

Back in 2017, a piece of research called ‘No Place Like Home’ examined the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ residents in social housing. Respondents described chronic hypervigilance in their own homes – moving photographs, hiding flags and books, and removing anything that might "give them away" before a housing officer or repairs operative arrived. The research found that around 60% of trans and non-binary respondents said they did not feel safe within their communities as an LGBTQ+ person.

A home is at the very least somewhere that you can feel safe to be yourself and that just wasn't the case for a lot of the people that researchers spoke to. 

That mistrust extends beyond the front door. Gathering data on sexual orientation and gender identity remains a genuine challenge, because residents and staff often don't feel safe enough to disclose. What this points to is a fundamental need for trust between landlord and resident. Building that trust requires deliberate, meaningful action, including visible support in newsletters and social media, a strong presence at local Pride events and resident involvement that actively seeks out voices that are too often absent.

Stonewall Housing was born out of exactly that need. Founded in 1983 by a group of LGBTQ+ activists who saw a dangerous gap in housing provision, we began with a single supported housing project in Islington. This was a direct response to the reality – that people were regularly being thrown out of their homes, simply for being gay.

Today, we support between 3,500 and 4,000 people every year across a range of tailored services: drug and alcohol support, domestic abuse services, older people's support, mental health advocacy, supported accommodation and dedicated support workers.

I sit within the organisation's Development wing, coordinating the LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge, which is an accreditation scheme that now counts 99 housing providers as signatories. By supporting landlords across the country to embed inclusive practice, we are working to make LGBTQ+ residents feel safe in the places that they call home.

The hope is that residents feel safe within their current neighbourhoods, and don't feel like they must move elsewhere, or find an all-LGBTQ+ spaces.

What you can do to support LGBTQ+ residents 

Pride Month is a visible moment, but for LGBTQ+ residents, the need for safe, inclusive housing doesn't pause on 1 July. The LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge is built around precisely this and structures its requirements across three areas that demand year-round commitment – resident engagement, visibility and training, and development. 

Engagement might mean an LGBTQ+ resident group that meets monthly, a Pride-themed community event, or a lunch-and-learn session for LGBTQ+ History Month in February. It could also mean that senior leaders visibly champion inclusion from the top, because that's how culture cascades down through an organisation.

Visibility means more than flying a flag. It means partnering with local LGBTQ+ charities and showing up at community events. And, through training, staff can respond confidently and sensitively when a resident discloses that their identity is relevant to their support needs. 

Pride in 2026

This year, as we prepare to attend London Pride, London Trans+ Pride and Brighton Pride, I've been thinking carefully about what Pride means currently. 

Pride isn't just about a celebration, it's about coming together and acknowledging what our priorities are for the coming year. 

For an organisation where the majority of the workforce is made up of LGBTQ+ people, checking in on colleagues is as important as serving residents. We've got the privilege of working for a by and for LGBTQ+ organisation and in many ways, for us, Pride happens all year round. 

Perhaps that is the ambition the whole sector should be working towards. Not a single month of rainbow logos but a genuine, ongoing commitment to making every LGBTQ+ resident feel that their home truly belongs to them. 

For more information on the LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge, see here.