Safe Haven

PEUGEOT donated £10,000 via the Attitude Foundation to be divided equally among the 10 winners of the PEUGEOT Attitude PRIDE Awards Europe, supported by British Airways. Each honouree has given £1,000 to a cause close to their heart. Here’s how Jessica Kellgren-Fozard shared hers…

(Photo Markus Bidaux)

In 1983, a group of activists turned an empty house in Islington, north London, into a refuge called Fallout for queer teenagers who had nowhere else to go. With the age of consent for gay men then set at 21, simply housing young LGBTQ+ people carried a real legal risk, and its founders faced the threat of police raids. From that clandestine start grew Stonewall Housing, the charity Jessica Kellgren-Fozard has chosen for her £1,000 donation, funded by PEUGEOT via the Attitude Foundation.

The organisation soon found an ally in the Greater London Council’s Lesbian and Gay Sub-Committee, which provided start-up funding and helped the group formalise into Stonewall Housing Association. Its first official hostel opened in Islington in 1986, making it the first housing association in the country set up exclusively for lesbians and gay men, and the first organisation to receive government funding for LGBTQ+ housing. That predates the campaigning charity most people associate with the name: Stonewall itself wasn’t founded until six years later, in 1989.

Since 1986, more than 45,000 people have been supported, and demand hasn’t slowed: Stonewall Housing is on track to help over 3,800 LGBTQ+ people this year alone, averaging 72 new referrals a week. More than a quarter of those it supports are trans or gender nonconforming, and over half are Black or from another ethnic minority background. Referrals from people fleeing domestic abuse have risen by 78 per cent since 2019.

Kellgren-Fozard, who was honoured for her YouTube advocacy work spanning LGBTQ+ and disability issues at the PEUGEOT AttitudePRIDE Awards Europe, supported by British Airways, says: “Stonewall Housing does important work helping thousands of LGBTQ+ people who face homelessness or live in unsafe environments, including those who are fleeing domestic abuse, face addiction or mental health issues, along with people who have lost their housing due to being LGBTQ+.”

Today, alongside a national advice line, Stonewall Housing runs supported accommodation across London, Brighton and Eastbourne and offers specialist casework in mental health, substance misuse and domestic abuse.

“I feel that it is vital, particularly in these strained times, to band together and focus on the members of our community who need help. Having a safe space to sleep at night should never become a luxury,” Kellgren-Fozard says.

“The specialised work they do is invaluable,” she adds, “and I hope that they can continue to support vulnerable members of our society.”

In response to Kellgren-Fozard’s gift, Stonewall Housing said: “A donation like this means a huge amount to us. Unrestricted donations are particularly valuable because they give us the flexibility to respond where the need is greatest, whether that’s helping someone facing homelessness access safe accommodation, supporting residents to rebuild their lives, or reaching more LGBTQ+ people who may not know that specialist support is available to them."

“We’re incredibly grateful to Jessica for choosing Stonewall Housing, and to Peugeot and the Attitude Foundation for making the donation possible.”

To contribute to Stonewall Housing’s vital work, visit stonewallhousing.org/donate