Making Space for Homeless Queers: An Interview with The Outside Project

Kingsley Napley’s LGBTQ+ & Allies Network spoke with Carla Ecola (they/them), Co-Founder and Managing Director of The Outside Project. The Outside Project was first established in 2017 to support those within the LGBTIQ+ community who are homeless, “hidden” homeless, or feel endangered or unable to access key services, such as housing.
 

While we celebrate Pride, it is still important to highlight the issues which continue to impact the most marginalised members of the LGBTIQ+ community, such as homelessness. The statistics in this area are striking:

1. Around 18–20% of LGBTIQ+ people in the UK have experienced homelessness in their lifetime, and this rises to 25–28% for trans and disabled LGBTIQ+ people.
2. Around 1 in 4 LGBTIQ+ young people (26–30%) have experienced hidden homelessness, such as sofa-surfing, squatting, or staying in unsafe accommodation, and they are twice as likely as their non-LGBTIQ+ peers to experience this.
3. Non-white LGBTIQ+ youth are 50% more likely to face hidden homelessness than their white counterparts.
4. 77% of LGBTIQ+ young people cited family rejection, abuse, or being asked to leave home as the primary cause of their homelessness.

Carla told us a little bit about how far The Outside Project has come and why the charity’s work is still of crucial importance now.

Can you tell us about the mission of The Outside Project and how it supports the LGBTIQ+ community?
 

Our mission is to provide identity responsive housing and spaces for the LGBTIQ+ community, peer-led support to LGBTIQ+ people in crisis, and advocacy for LGBTIQ+ rights and needs within wider systems and services. We promote improved “social health” and sobriety within the LGBTIQ+ community, develop relationships with services to strengthen the support provided, and share our knowledge to educate others on the unique and complex needs of LGBTIQ+ people.

Our shelters are for LGBTIQ+ people who have become homeless whilst living in London and do not feel able to access existing services. Residents are referred to us via our outreach and advocacy workers. We operate the Anira House, a 7-bed crisis shelter in North London, and STAR Refuge, a domestic abuse refuge in partnership with Star Support, which has 11 studio flats. The stays of our residents range from a few days to 3 or 6 months. Our team are there for core hours to provide support focused on recovery from homelessness and finding long term, stable accommodation. From December last year, we began to operate a winter night shelter specifically for the trans+ community, getting back to our roots of providing emergency winter night shelters for those most in need.

Our LGBTIQ+ Centre is our main HQ. We hold open and private meetings, groups and activities throughout the week for residents of our shelter, refuge and outreach services. The Centre and hot-desking space is also home to multiple LGBTIQ+ and homelessness grassroots groups that we work alongside or support to develop. It’s been the home of African Rainbow Family and Book 28 Library since we opened.

How has The Outside Project grown or evolved since it was founded?
 

It has grown because it had to. We began by opening a winter night shelter, which was the first of its kind crisis shelter service for the LGBTIQ+ community in London. There are unfortunately so many people in need of this service, who become homeless or at risk for many different reasons, so we recognised very quickly that we needed to be open all year round.

The pandemic also really sped this up - we became a 24-hour service which wasn’t initially part of our plan (at least not at that stage) but it was needed. It enabled us to work with people with more complex situations and problems. Our additional Covid emergency hotel project ran from 2020 to 2023 and we provided over 3,000 nights in hotels for LGBTIQ+ people over the winter seasons.

Similarly with STAR Refuge, during the pandemic domestic abuse and issues with domestic arrangements generally became more prevalent, particularly for queer people. There was a need for a safe space for people fleeing these kinds of situations and we were able to get the funding in place to provide this support.

Since 2023, we have also delivered an outreach service in Westminster commissioned by Westminster Council. When a referral is accepted, an allocated outreach worker will work alongside the person and any related agencies that they are linked in with to find a solution. This project came from our own experience within the team at The Outside Project of being homeless in the city and wanting to have a community to go to in order to feel safe. This was needed in Westminster, particularly in Soho, and we go where we are needed.

What are some of the biggest challenges LGBTIQ+ people are currently facing, and how is The Outside Project addressing them?
 

It has been a very difficult year for the trans+ community, particularly in the last few months. Trans+ people are being dragged into the crossfire of global politics and therefore the need for safe spaces for them has never been more critical.

From Christmas Eve to early April this year, we opened a new Trans Winter Night Shelter in Hackney. This aimed to provide a dignified, safe and supportive refuge specifically for our trans+ community who are homeless, escaping domestic abuse, seeking asylum, or at risk of sleeping rough. We have come across many trans+ people in our work, who are often the most marginalised and vulnerable of the people we support so it felt important, particularly with everything going on in the world recently, to run a service specifically for them. While we are so proud of all the initiatives we have built within The Outside Project over the years, we were very passionate about returning to our roots of providing an emergency winter night shelter service.

In partnership with Micro Rainbow and Star Support, we provided private and communal bedrooms alongside offices and community space. It took us around 6 weeks to get the venue fully prepared and the response from the local community in Hackney was amazing. It was for many of our trans+ residents the first time they were able to spend time with other trans+ people in a safe environment and it became very social. So much so that we sometimes struggled to get everyone to shut down at 11pm to sleep!

Can you share a moment that made you feel proud to be part of this work?
 

We lost one of our founders and friends, Maari Nastari, in December. Maari was a fierce advocate for the LGBTIQ+ community and she had a long history of working in the charity sector. Maari was our interim CEO at The Outside Project for a time and developed STAR Refuge into Star Support, a year-round, London-based refuge and community support service for LGBTIQ+ survivors of domestic abuse. Maari’s death was such a difficult time for us but we managed to carry on, and it gave me pride and appreciation in the team and the work that we do and how it is bigger than any of us. We miss Maari every day but we know she would be proud of what we continue to do.

Our window for refunding closes in April so it is always a very busy time trying to lock in the funding for a further year from the sources we rely on and get the paperwork in order. We were running the Trans Winter Night Shelter all the way through to April, while also processing Maari’s death, so it was a lot to manage. I felt proud (and a big sigh of relief) once that was done and I knew we had the funds to continue our work. It becomes more difficult each year, given the increase in cost of living and other pressures.

What are some upcoming projects or initiatives you are excited about?
 

We are looking to establish an apprenticeship scheme through our LGBTIQ+ Centre. We would like to be able to go further than just supporting LGBTIQ+ people in crisis through homelessness, but also help them in recovery into work, to gain qualifications and experience to rebuild their lives within the local community. They will be paid to work in inclusive spaces like community centres or art studios and we would pay those organisations to mentor them. These are the sorts of opportunities that we wish we had had when we were exiting homelessness.

How are you celebrating or recognising Pride Month this year?
 

Every year on 28 June, we arrange a memorial picnic for residents of our shelters and our friends and supporters to remember the Stonewall rioters. The majority of them were homeless - for example, Marsha P. Johnson, one of the main figures of the uprising in 1969, was at that time in her life sleeping rough in the park opposite the Stonewall Inn. We set up a coconut shy version of the riot and we throw foam bricks at balloons with faces of police officers. Everyone really loves it. We then also try to attend some of the smaller Pride events in London and nearby, for example Trans Pride, Forest Gate Pride, Margate Pride etc.

How can individuals or businesses get involved or support The Outside Project?
 

Due to the nature of our work and the vulnerable people we work with, we are a small, closed team and it makes it a little harder to involve members of the public in our activities. However, we are holding a fundraiser for the next Trans Winter Night Shelter on 29 August at 8pm at NQ64 in Old Street. There will be DJs and drag queens and we hope to be launching our impact report following last winter’s shelter. We would love to sell as many tickets as possible so if anyone would like to attend or sell some tickets for us please email Talaith@lgbtiqoutside.org.

We also really benefit from people following, sharing and interacting with our social media channels, as it spreads awareness of the work we do. Our Instagram is @lgbtiqoutside.

further information

If you have any questions regarding this blog, please contact Liam Hurren in our Family and Divorce team.