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LGBTQ+ History Month is about action, not just awareness. At P3 Charity, we believe that everyone deserves a place where they belong, and this means confronting discrimination – both past and present – that can drive LGBTQ+ people into homelessness, poor mental health and exclusion from support. By learning from people’s lived experiences, we can create spaces where LGBTQ+ people are safe, supported and genuinely able to belong.
LGBTQ+ History Month shines a light on the stories, activism and resistance that have driven progress for LGBTQ+ communities, while reminding us how much work still remains. The 2026 theme of ‘Innovation’ calls on organisations to move beyond just visibility and to take active steps to put inclusion into practice.
Thanks to decades of activism, legal protections for the LGBTQ+ community have made things safer and fairer for the community, while public understanding and acceptance has improved; but inequality still persists at systemic levels, resulting in LGBTQ+ people being more likely to experience homelessness, poor mental health and substance misuse. For P3, this month matters because our mission is rooted in tackling these inequalities head-on. By learning from LGBTQ+ history and engaging with lived experience, we can challenge exclusion, shape better support and ensure our services are places where everyone truly belongs.
Tracey McAndrews, P3 Charity’s Head of Support and Community Services for the north of England, talks about the Third Sector in relation to LGBTQ+ History Month and why having spaces of belonging are crucial to people’s wellbeing, particularly in the homeless community.
“The LGBTQ+ community is hugely overrepresented in the homeless sector, like many other marginalised communities. As a sector, we have a duty to continue to ask why that is and how we can address that. So having those spaces where [organisations] can learn from each other in terms of best practice, we are removing barriers for different communities across the country. Having those conversations enables us to continue to improve.”
-Tracey McAndrews, P3 Charity’s Head of Support and Community Services
Creating inclusive spaces for people to learn, listen and share their experiences is a vital part of that responsibility. Organisations can only come together if they’re honest about their reflections on their practice, as it enables people with real experiences to challenge assumptions and help reframe ways of thinking.
By working collaboratively across the sector, we can better understand the systemic barriers faced by LGBTQ+ people and other marginalised communities and work towards removing them. These conversations are not just about awareness: they are about accountability and action.
Advocating for LGBTQ+ people in the homelessness sector matters all year round, because inequality doesn’t pause outside awareness months. But LGBTQ+ History Month offers a vital moment to identify where systems have failed, giving the sector an opportunity to reflect and improve our practices.
Tracey draws on her experience working with homelessness charity St Mungo’s and LGBTQ+ advocacy charity Stonewall on one of the earliest LGBTQ+ housing pathways for people facing homelessness. She explains, “We had one house that was specifically for trans people, accommodating them during different stages of their transition. Another property was specifically for LGBTQ+ people before anything else of this sort existed.
“I saw and had lots of conversations with people who had never had or experienced advocacy for them… When I worked with that service, it really opened my eyes to the wider need for us to grow as a sector. Though more needs to happen, there are a lot more services than there were back then for the [LGBTQ+] community.”
Tracey adds, “I’ve been fortunate enough to [occupy] spaces where I can be myself. But that’s not the reality for everyone; it’s a reminder that visibility, safety and belonging matter. At P3, inclusion isn’t an add on: It’s about how we lead, how we listen and how [we] make sure everyone feels heard, seen, respected and valued for whoever they are and whoever they happen to love.”
Many LGBTQ+ people experience homelessness at disproportionately higher rates, yet their experiences are often under-represented or misunderstood because of fear from discrimination, misgendering or being judged, which too often prevents people from seeking support or disclosing personal information. This creates a difficult tension: without good data and statistics, it’s hard to action the most impactful changes, but when data is collected insensitively, it can actively push people away from the help they need.
That’s why we believe no one should feel pressured to share personal details just to access support. Our approach is person-centred and flexible: something that extends to our systems and our use of data. While some information is necessary to keep people safe and ensure support is coordinated across services, we only collect what’s genuinely needed and only after trust has begun to form. Data is never an entry requirement to care: it comes after listening, not before.
At P3, we recognise that how data is gathered can either reinforce exclusion or become a tool for empowerment. We’re on an ongoing learning journey to ensure our data collection supports, rather than hinders, someone’s ability to access the support they need, when they need it. Thoughtful, consent-based data practices can help address this by improving understanding of LGBTQ+ homelessness, informing better responses and ensuring people’s experiences are recognised on their own terms. This aligns closely with the 2026 LGBTQ+ History Month theme, which invites reflection on visibility, agency and how systems can better serve LGBTQ+ communities.
This gives people the space to share information about themselves when they feel ready, ensuring that personal information – their sex, gender, sexual orientation, race, religion or any other characteristic that might have previously made them vulnerable to discrimination – is treated sensitively. We’ve found that this approach helps people feel safer and more at ease and allows them to disclose this information at their own pace. Our systems are also built to evolve, recognising that people’s identities and the language used to describe them can change. This means individuals can update their information if it changes and we can respond respectfully as people continue to grow.
As Amy Baxter, P3 Charity’s Data and Digital Optimisation Manager, explains, ethical, inclusive data practice puts choice first and recognises that safety, consent and trust are essential to meaningful insight.
She says, “EDI isn’t a box to tick, it’s part of someone’s story. We use digital tools to capture EDI with consent, clarity and respect, because we believe it helps us design better, fairer support. People remain in control of what they share, and our systems are built to evolve as circumstances and identities evolve. We don’t use data to label people: we use it to listen, learn and act responsibly and for good.”
By focusing on how inclusion is built into everyday practices at P3, our services are designed to be safe, respectful and inclusive. Alongside clear policies, ongoing staff training and partnerships with specialist LGBTQ+ organisations, we work with a trauma-informed, person-centred approach that puts choice and trust at its centre.
This LGBTQ+ History Month, we have been having conversations about how we listen, how we use data ethically and how we reduce barriers to support. With each day, we are strengthening our commitment to inclusive practice, ensuring this work continues year-round so that LGBTQ+ people can access support with confidence.
