FAQs

akt (formerly the Albert Kennedy Trust) is a charity supporting LGBTQ+ young people aged 16-25 who are facing or experiencing homelessness.

We help LGBTQ+ young people find safe homes, employment, education and training, where their identities will be accepted and celebrated. akt have relationships with other service providers who can offer safe housing, mental health support and training to akt service users. We also offer both online and in-person support.

We have a page dedicated to positions, including voluntary and paid roles.

LGBTQ+ young people are at a much higher risk of homelessness, and will face greater challenges while homeless than those who aren’t LGBTQ+. akt is here to support these young people, and will always be able to signpost other people experiencing homelessness to charities who can help them.

If you are a young person facing homelessness, living in a hostile environment, or know of someone who is, you can make an online referral, access our live chat feature or email gethelp@akt.org.uk.

akt wants to make sure they remain relevant to the young people they support and that is reflected in the way we present ourselves. We check in with the people in our community and refresh the way we work and look every 10 years.

Albert Kennedy was a young gay man who tragically lost his life and akt was named in his memory by our founder, Cath Hall. Cath is a straight foster carer and Albert was a friend of her foster son, but she saw Albert as a second son.

Yes! We’re always excited to hear from people who want to help our mission.

We’re not currently open to mentor applications – please keep a look-out for information about re-opening.

Thank you for thinking of us! We accept donations on a case-by-case basis due to limited capacity in our service centres. We only accept clothing in brand new condition. Please get in touch with the office you’d be donating to and we can let you know if we can accept the donation.

We can only accept furniture/household items on a case-by-case basis due to the limited amount of space we have to store such donations. Please get in touch with the office you’d be donating to and we can let you know.

Please email supporters@akt.org.uk with details.

We support young LGBTQ+ people aged 16-25, but we can signpost anyone over 25 and young people who are not LGBTQ+ to other organisations.

We are a national charity and cover every region of England as well as Wales and Scotland. You can use our live chat feature, fill out a referral form, or email gethelp@akt.org.uk to access our services.

akt specialises in helping those facing homelessness but we can signpost you to specialist organisations that provide support for whatever you need help with (e.g. chem sex, sex work, substance dependency, domestic violence). See our Support Services page or get in touch.

79p in every pound goes towards directly supporting young people. Read more about how donations are used in our impact reports.

There are lots of ways you can support akt besides donating, like volunteering or becoming an akt champion. And there are lots of small, easy ways to support us: buy some merch, create a social media fundraiser, share our posts, come to our fundraisers and our annual youth conference!

akt specialises in supporting LGBTQ+ young people but we are always happy to signpost people to organisations that can help you.

If you are at risk of, or experiencing homelessness, over 25 and not LGBTQ+, Shelter, Centrepoint, Citizens Advice, Homeless Link and Nightstop are here to offer advice and assistance.