charlie's story

Charlie was referred to the Trans Pathway Project after experiencing homophobic abuse from neighbours, leaving him sleeping on buses and sofa surfing to avoid the abuse he was enduring.

how akt supported charlie:

Charlie grew up in the care system from the age of 9. He first came out as trans at age 11 to a teacher and then again at age 17 while living in a care home.

Charlie started experiencing extreme homophobic abuse from neighbours and his door was kicked in twice. Charlie started staying out late to avoid the harassment he was experiencing at home. With nobody to turn to, he found out about akt and The Trans Pathway from staff at an LGBT+ youth group he was attending.

“They found out I was sleeping on buses and sleeping on couches because my house was a homophobic nightmare, so they directed me to akt who have helped me out pretty much since then” Charlie said.

akt placed Charlie on the Trans Pathway Project, a specialised service set up to support young trans people in Manchester who have had housing issues directly related to their gender identity. akt worked alongside Charlie’s care worker and building staff to make his accommodation safer by installing CCTV, changing his locks and keeping a record of the abuse. akt also helped Charlie look for safer long-term accommodation.

Charlie sought a referral to a gender clinic from his GP but, after waiting a year, he found out that he had not been placed on a waiting list. Prior to referring to the Trans Pathway Project Charlie felt like he had to advocate for himself to find his own gender identity services, which was very frustrating. Through the Trans Pathway Project, akt worked with Charlie to helped him move GPs so that he could receive care from someone more knowledgeable about trans healthcare. He has since been able to get a support pack for gender affirming items.

Charlie says that working with the Trans Pathway Project was the first time the abuse was taken seriously. He has now moved into a new flat, and is excited to move on with his life, transition and finding a job.

“The best thing about the Trans Pathway Project is the knowledge of trans issues, services and being flexible to the needs of young people. It’s really good to get support with housing, but also learning about deed polls and gender care and finding out where you can go for certain things.”