A “radically impactful service” for trans+ young people facing homelessness in Greater Manchester
Welcome to our brand new guest blog series! We will use this space to showcase and spotlight some of the powerful work and notable achievements of charities and organisations sharing our mission to end homelessness across Greater Manchester. If you would like to submit a guest blog for consideration, please get in touch today.
First up, we’re pleased to hear from akt. 24% of homeless young people identify as LGBTQ+. This is where akt come in, the national LGBTQ+ youth homelessness charity with a mission to provide every LGBTQ+ 16-25 year old facing homelessness or a hostile living environment with a safe place to live.
The Trans Pathway Project was a three-year pilot based in Greater Manchester funded by St Martin-in-the-Fields' charity. The project supported nearly a hundred trans and non-binary young people facing homelessness or living in a hostile environment.
Over the three-year pilot, staff and young people worked together to develop a powerful model of support. A young people’s peer evaluation of the project described the Trans Pathway as "a well-needed example of a holistic project delivered by trans staff that has created a radically impactful service.” The project has also worked closely with agencies across Greater Manchester to share knowledge and best practice about supporting trans young people.
The Trans Pathway model features three main components: holistic, trans-informed floating support & advocacy addressing specific barriers that trans young people face to access housing; a community-centred approach through youth group activities and being trans-led, and collaboration and outreach through multi-agency working, talks, training, events and resources for the sector. On the pilot, these elements were provided by a team of three staff: a floating support worker, youth worker and project manager; with volunteers and co-production by young people.
Holistic, trans-informed support to access housing
The Trans Pathway project offered advice, advocacy and wrap-around support provided by a floating support worker who is knowledgeable about housing/homelessness and trans experiences. Floating support centres around the need for safe housing, while looking broadly at the barriers to accessing and maintaining stable accommodation. These might include support to access ID and supporting documents in their correct name and gender marker; support to find employment or challenge discrimination they are facing at work; dealing with rent arrears, help with budgeting and household admin tasks like setting up utilities; and signposting to access healthcare, such as registering with an LGBT+ friendly GP.
Common issues faced by young people on the project included fleeing from domestic abuse, facing transphobia from neighbours including physical assault and damage to property, and facing exclusion when trying to access mainstream support services. Disturbingly, akt's No Place Like Home research found that a third of trans+ young people face homelessness. By having a broad remit, our floating support worker was able to undertake a wide range of work to prevent homelessness and address forms of hidden homelessness common in the trans community such as sofa surfing, survival sex work and living in dangerous or inaccessible accommodation, as well as supporting people who are street homeless; and provide ongoing light-touch support over a long period of time to prevent future homelessness.
Community-centred project
A youth group provided opportunities to learn skills such as cooking and mending clothing, attend community events such as Trans Pride, and for young people to take the lead on planning youth-led projects. This allowed trans young people to build their skills and confidence supported by their peers. They were able to meet other young people with shared experiences. One young person said, “When I joined Trans Pathway I had never met another Desi, South Asian trans person before. I joined Trans Pathway, I met two… and it was like looking into a hopeful mirror.”
Young people also told us about the positive impact of working with trans staff. Being supported by trans staff meant they did not have to educate staff about being trans, creating more feelings of trust and safety for young people who had previous negative experiences at other services.
Collaboration and outreach
Multi-agency working was crucial to the success of the project, allowing us to work with a broad range of services with varying specialisation. With young people’s consent, we convened multi-agency meetings and supported them in attending appointments. Multi-agency working can result in more joined-up support and prevent a young person from having to retell their story over and over again, which can be retraumatising.
It is also transformative: the project took an institutional advocacy approach, intentionally taking opportunities to work collaboratively with other services to share knowledge about supporting trans young people and increase their confidence and commitment to tackling transphobia. While specialist support provided by by-and-for services has a profound impact, it is equally important to create trans inclusion within mainstream services. The Trans Pathway also developed resources in consultation with young people and delivered talks and training to share our learnings, creating wider-reaching change.
What did young people say about the project?
akt conducted a Peer Research project to uplift the voices and insights of young people we worked with. The Peer Research Report is a valuable resource for anyone working with trans young people or who would like to emulate or build on the Trans Pathway model. Here are a few quotes from the young people:
“When I joined Trans Pathway I had never met another Desi, South Asian trans person before. I joined Trans Pathway, I met two… and it was like looking into a hopeful mirror.”
"In a lot of other situations, I won’t really talk about being trans… When you talk about your housing problems and stuff, I think it’s not considered. A cis person wouldn’t know that a trans person is thinking about these things safety wise… But the staff here know that young people are thinking, ‘Am I safe in this place?’”
“He helps me with my adult life because I’m neurodivergent […] A big one is that he helps me with my appointments. He helps me by coming to them with me, and also books them for me.”
“I’m autistic, I have physical disabilities, I’m a queer trans person, I’ve struggled a lot with money, I’ve struggled a lot with getting jobs [...] Trans Pathway really helped me smooth that transition [into adulthood] and that is incredibly important.”
Guest Blog submitted by Matthew Waits