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Home + Hope

akt’s LGBTQ+ youth homelessness strategy 2026–2031

akt's Home + Hope logo, featuring a rainbow heart with an intersex circle in the centre and a house shape at the bottom with the stripes of the Progress Pride flag. Beneath, the words
akt’s five-year strategy sets out how we will help more LGBTQ+ young people aged 16–25 move from homelessness and housing crisis towards safe, stable homes and hopeful futures.

Home + Hope at a glance 

  • Who we support: LGBTQ+ young people aged 16–25 who are experiencing homelessness, hidden homelessness or housing crisis. 
  • What we want to achieve: more young people in safe, stable homes, with the support and opportunities they need to live independently and thrive. 
  • How we will do it: deliver expert person-first support, prevent homelessness, listen to young people, build effective partnerships, test new approaches and share what works. 
  • Strategy period: 2026–2031. 

LGBTQ+ young people are still twice as likely as their peers to experience hidden homelessness. In an often hostile and unwelcoming world, akt has never been more needed. 

We call our 2026–2031 strategy Home + Hope because young people need both: a safe, stable place to call home and the opportunity to thrive, not simply survive. Our vision and mission remain unchanged. We will continue to provide expert, LGBTQ+ specific, person-first support while improving our services, responding to changing needs and sharing effective practice beyond akt. 

Our five strategic priorities 

  1. Support young people into safe, stable homes. We will guide young people from crisis towards safety and stability, advocate for secure housing, and help them build the skills and resources to live independently. 
  2. Help young people thrive and prevent homelessness. We will create opportunities for young people to succeed as young adults, expand safe access to digital and online support, test new housing and non-housing solutions, and share learning to influence homelessness policy and practice. 
  3. Listen and respond to what young people need and want. We will develop our Youth Voice project with the young people we support and use research into their lived experience of homelessness to shape our work. 
  4. Collaborate to support young people and spread what works. We will build partnerships that meet housing and non-housing needs, test and learn from new approaches, and influence policy and practice. 
  5. Be the cause people choose to support, champion, work for and volunteer with. We will tell powerful stories about the lives we help transform, build awareness of our mission and commitment to change, and keep akt a great place to work and volunteer. 

Projects we are scoping 

We have identified five areas that matter to young people or to akt’s long-term effectiveness. We will scope each project carefully; where funding is secured, projects will become pilots during the first two years of strategy delivery. 

  • Digital services: explore how technology can extend safe access to akt’s support and improve efficiency and effectiveness across our work. 
  • Stronger advocacy: increase in-house legal advice to improve housing outcomes for more young people. 
  • Systems change: create a systematic approach to influencing change at local and national level. 
  • Reimagined volunteering: expand volunteering opportunities, including for young people and corporate partners. 
  • Embedded storytelling: tell real stories in real voices across fundraising, brand, campaigning, influencing and systems-change work. 
A photo of akt's CEO Adam Pemberton Wickham at Pride in London 2026, wearing an akt t-shirt and holding an akt placard.

Why this strategy, and why now?

Today, after consulting extensively with young people, colleagues, supporters and those we work with, we are proud to share akt’s plan for the next five years which will guide our work up to the 40th anniversary of our founding in 2029 and beyond.

 

Home + Hope builds on the amazing things that akt does every day to transform the lives of young LGBTQ+ people who are homeless, at risk of homelessness or living in a hostile environment. We intend to keep doing that great work but also to go further in response to what young people today and tomorrow tell us they need and how they want to be supported.

 

It’s ambitious and there is lots to do. But I believe that Home + Hope points us in the right direction so akt can progress towards our shared vision of a world where no young person has to choose between a safe home and being who they are.

 

I hope you will come with us on that journey.

 

Adam Pemberton Wickham
CEO of akt

We can't do this alone.

Our ambition is to keep strengthening what we do and reach more LGBTQ+ young people who need us. We will pursue that ambition responsibly, balancing innovation and growth with good governance, careful use of resources and evidence about what works. This will help us make sound decisions, learn and adapt, and build services that are effective, sustainable and able to deliver lasting impact.

We are doing this in a difficult operating environment, with charities facing budget cuts, restructures, political hostility and closures. We are determined to remain resilient and unwavering in our mission to help every LGBTQ+ young person aged 16–25 who needs us.

We welcome conversations with grant funders, partner charities, businesses and advisers who can contribute funding, delivery capacity, specialist knowledge, pro bono expertise or shared learning. If your organisation has an idea or resource that could help make Home + Hope a reality, contact supporters@akt.org.uk.
Get in touch

View our latest Impact Report

Our latest Impact Report explains how we are tackling LGBTQ+ youth homelessness, measuring our work and using our resources effectively. We will use impact reporting and learning from pilots to track progress, improve delivery and remain accountable to young people, supporters and partners.
akt Impact Report, 2025 (23.02 MB)

FAQs

What is akt’s Home + Hope strategy? 

Home + Hope is akt’s five-year strategy for 2026–2031. It sets out how we will support LGBTQ+ young people facing homelessness, improve and extend our services, prevent homelessness, strengthen young people’s voice, build partnerships and help create wider change. 

Who does akt support? 

akt supports LGBTQ+ young people aged 16–25 who are experiencing homelessness, hidden homelessness or housing crisis and need expert, person-first support. 

What will the strategy achieve? 

The strategy is designed to help more young people reach safe, stable homes, live independently and thrive. It will also expand prevention and digital support, develop young people’s influence over our work, test new solutions and share learning to improve policy and practice. 

How will akt remain effective for the long term? 

akt is prioritising the areas where its resources and expertise can have the greatest impact, scoping projects before piloting them, measuring progress through impact reporting, building partnerships and investing in the organisation as a strong place to work and volunteer. 

How can funders, charities and businesses work with akt? 

Organisations can support Home + Hope through grant funding, delivery partnerships, pro bono expertise, corporate volunteering and shared learning. To discuss an idea or opportunity, email supporters@akt.org.uk. 

A group of akt staff and volunteers at Pride in London's parade 2026. An akt staff member is holding a placard that says