Tracey's Story

Tracey joined P3 Charity in 2024, bringing with her years of experience and commitment to housing support and homelessness prevention. Her journey in the supported housing sector began in 1998 when she started as an outreach worker, meeting people where they were and listening to their stories. From those early days on the frontline, Tracey progressed into leadership roles, eventually becoming Head of Support and Community for P3 Charity services in the north of England – a role shaped by nearly three decades of hands-on experience. 

At the heart of her work is a non-judgemental, compassionate approach. She takes time to build trust and really see the person behind the situation. While Tracey believes in equal and fair access to housing for everyone, Tracey has been a strong advocate for LGBTQ+ people in supported housing, championing inclusive, community-led services where everyone feels safe, respected and valued. 

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community herself, Tracey is passionate about helping people find their voices. She says, “It’s something that began way before my professional career began, as early as childhood. I’ve always been so passionate about social justice – specifically advocating for LGBTQ+ people – so it’s something that naturally came with the roles I’ve taken.”  

Tracey continues, “As a member of the LGBTQ+ community and as someone in a senior leadership role, I’m very aware of how visibility and inclusion really matter. It’s not about forcing people into sharing their identity; it’s about letting people know that they can.  

“For me, being able to share my identity at work is absolutely crucial to me as a person, but also demonstrates to other people that being visual, being vocal about it really matters. As Head of Support and Community for the north of England, I cover Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Cheshire East and Yorkshire, which is a large percentage of the organisation, so I feel like I’m really in a position to have an impact.”  

She adds, “In terms of my identity, I haven’t always been out and open, particularly in relation to work. Historically I have always made sure I feel safe to be able to do so; I no longer do that because as I evolved, I’ve become more secure in my own identity.”  

We talk about the challenges of not feeling safe in the workplace and why for Tracey, creating community spaces for people within her teams to feel included is essential, not desirable.  

Talking about previous roles, Tracey says, “I used to describe it as ‘coming-out’ all over again. Every Monday, everybody will be talking about their weekend and when they don’t know you as a person, there is an assumption of heteronormality that everybody subconsciously refers to.  

“I talk about my wife in the same way that other couples talk about their wives or husbands. It’s about normalising that conversation, but more importantly, it’s about feeling safe to be able to do that.”  

As Tracey highlights the progress that workplaces have made to be inclusive of all people, she still acknowledges the caveat that safe environments can only be created when we change the way people think about others. Despite workplaces’ efforts, stigma still exists if we can’t all be open about our identities.  

“There is absolutely still stigma; we’d be foolish to pretend that there wasn’t. As somebody who is hypersensitive to body language, you can and do see it when people find out. For example, if people don’t know and I make reference to my wife, I can see the change. So, at work, in an environment when you need to be your whole self, it’s so important that we can express ourselves. For me, it’s really important to get that conversation out of the way early on.”  

Tracey acknowledges that this isn’t easy, especially for people who don’t feel safe or aren’t used to being open with their colleagues. Her advice: “Feel the fear and do it anyway. It is like a ‘coming-out’ process, but it gets easier the more you do it. Unfortunately, we are still in a situation where we have to ‘come out’; I hope one day we will live in a world where it’ll be normalised to talk about your partner, whoever they are.  

“When we talk about culture and values and what we stand for at P3 – linking that into LGBTQ+ History month – what conversations take place in the workplace and how we approach that creates a psychologically safe space where people can have conversations about things that matter to them, or conversations about things that they don’t understand. While it’s okay not to have a grasp of something, it’s how you approach that to enhance your understanding that matters.” 

Beyond the workplace, Tracey talks about the Third Sector more broadly and why having these 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 continues, “It’s important to recognise the progress that has been made, but also to be honest about the fact that acceptance doesn’t happen automatically, or everywhere. We’re able to have this conversation today because we’re fortunate enough to be in a country where it’s safe to have this conversation.”

Tracey is keen to emphasise that LGBTQ+ History Month is just as important for people who aren’t a part of the community. She says that we should all “stand up for what is right because it’s right, not because it matters to you [personally]. Simply because people matter.  

“Everybody needs to stand up for people in minority groups that are punished because of who they are. Across the world, people don’t have the same level of rights as we do [in the UK]. The way that the world is – the way that it might be going – one day it might be any of us, for any reason at any point.” 

Tracey says that the way we respond to LGBTQ+ developments across the globe is relevant in terms of how we respond to the people around us. She adds, “I’ve been fortunate enough to work in 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.”