akt

🌟 What a night to remember! Last night, we celebrated akt’s 35th birthday with our incredible corporate partners, donors, and friends, marking over three decades of support for homeless LGBTQ young people. Thank you all so much for being here and for your unwavering commitment to our mission! We are absolutely thrilled to share some exciting insights from our recent research and discuss our future plans. Your contributions are having a transformative impact on the lives of LGBTQ+ young people, and we are proud to celebrate the progress we’ve made together. A special thank you to the team at Bluefin Building for donating this fantastic venue, Katherine McKenna and the Genuine Dining team for providing refreshments at cost price, and shona mackay and The Hummingbird Bakery team for the beautiful cakes that we enjoyed. Also shout out to Dr Jamie Gallagher for designing our special 35th birthday exclusive pin badges (and donating over £35,000 in sales from his science pin badges with proceeds to akt!). Finally, thanks to our partner Flying Tiger Copenhagen - UK & Ireland for the wonderful rainbow tote bags that we gave to all our guests. A HUGE thank you to: Rob Malcomson MBE, our Chair of Trustees, for his inspiring words about our mission and the impact we have on LGBTQ young people. Adam Pemberton Wickham, our new CEO, for sharing his vision for akt and our commitment to continue this vital work. Dr Carin Tunaker and Dr Trude Diesen Sundberg, from the University of Kent, for sharing a sneak peek of the new sobering research on the current state of LGBTQ+ youth homelessness. Sir Ian McKellen CBE, our long-time Patron, for his unwavering support and dedication to our cause. As we step into this next chapter, we are committed to expanding our reach and ensuring that every young person knows they are valued, loved, and supported. Thank you once again to everyone who joined us and for the vital role you play in helping us change lives. A special thanks to all of our partners and guests that attended: Aviva, Condé Nast, Coty (Marc Jacobs Fragrances), Dorchester Collection, Flying Tiger Copenhagen - UK & Ireland, HelloFresh, The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales (#Homewards), Josh Wood Colour, Kiehl's Since 1851, Legal & General, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons Plc, Oak Foundation, Oliver Bonas, Pret A Manger Foundation, The Talent Fund, Uber 📸 Thank you Milo Robinson for taking the pictures! #aktcharity #charity #lgbtq #lgbtqyouth

🎉 akt is proud to introduce our first-ever Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy! 🎉   Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion aren't taken for granted at akt. We want to create a culture where everyone feels valued and celebrated for who they are; our aim is to ensure everyone feels seen, heard, and valued for who they are, with equal access to opportunities and a true sense of belonging.   This 18-month journey has been one of reflection, learning, and listening. Our new EDI Strategy is built around the core themes of access, respect, and opportunity, with eight strategic aims setting out the type of organisation we want to create.   akt is also committed to actively confronting and fighting racism across all areas of our work and making sure we become a charity that better supports all of our staff and reflects the young people we’re proud to work with. We’re commissioning an externally-led anti-racism review to inform future actions in this area.   We know this is just the beginning, and we want to make sure this work has a long-lasting, far-reaching impact and that will allow us to continue to reflect and learn as we progress through this work. 💜   🔗 Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eGv-JYf6

🌟 akt is thrilled to be an accredited Disability Confident Employer! 🌟 We strive to create an environment where all of our staff can thrive. 💜 With 48% of our staff identifying as disabled, we're committed to fostering a workplace that supports, values, and empowers everyone. We have taken steps within the workplace to ensure every voice is heard, and every individual can succeed, by implementing actions such as a guaranteed interview scheme, robust wellbeing support, and a Disabled Staff Network. Join akt in building a more inclusive world together! Read more here: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eVzG543p #DiversityAndInclusion #DisabilityConfidentEmployer #WorkplaceInclusivity #aktcharity

A huge thank you to the entire Flying Tiger Copenhagen - UK & Ireland team for the astonishing amount of support over the summer Pride period! Donations and support like this helps keep us running, and allows us to keep providing our services to youth in need 💜

🏳️🌈 🏳️⚧️ Happy National Coming Out Day! 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈 Today not only celebrates the courage that comes with living as your authentic self, but also plays a crucial role in raising awareness about the complex challenges many LGBTQ+ people face after coming out. 77% of the youth we support believe that coming out to their parents was a main factor in causing their homelessness. We celebrate National Coming Out Day because we recognise that for many people, today and throughout history, coming out has been dangerous and difficult. We want any young person to know that whether they are out or not, their identity is still valid and there are communities and organisations out there that can support them. 💜 Read more here: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e_hmnTki

🚨 24% of homeless youth identifies as LGBTQ+ 🚨 10th October is both World Mental Health Day and World Homelessness Day, and as the UK’s only homelessness charity specialising in LGBTQ+ youth care, akt is acutely aware of how LGBTQ+ youth are disproportionately affected by housing instability and the impact this has on their mental health. Thank you to Manchester Homelessness Partnership for hosting a fantastic event yesterday! akt’s presence there allowed us to reinforce the importance of including LGBTQ+ voices in conversations about homelessness. 💜 Read the full blog post here: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/em6A-WVp #worldmentalhealthday #worldhomelessnessday #homelesshealth #lgbtq #charity #aktcharity

🌈  On September the 24th, Hayley, akt's Director of Services, and Trev, akt's Senior Services Manager, attended the launch of Micro Rainbow's newest report, ‘Held back: Poverty of LGBTQI+ Refugees in the UK’. 🌈 Micro Rainbow’s new report investigates the experiences of LGBTQI+ refugees, more than a decade after the hostile environment policy was implemented. The evening, which took place at Rich Mix in London, provided an opportunity for Micro Rainbow to present the new report, while also celebrating the participants and volunteers who contributed so many hours to the project. Speakers at the event included Micro Rainbow's CEO Sebastian Rocca patron Phyll Opoku-Gyimah. At akt, we are seeing an increase in the number of LGBTQ+ refugees aged between 16-25 reaching out to our charity for support. Between 2022-2023, 1 in 10 of the young people who accessed akt’s services were asylum seekers or refugees. We were honored to be able to show our support at this event and find out more about Micro Rainbows work to raise awareness about the issues faced by LGBTQ+ refugees living in poverty in the UK. 🔗  Read the report now: https://lnkd.in/eGnV7nuj 

🖤 Happy Black History Month! 🖤 46% of LGBTQ+ youth akt supported last year were BBPoC. Join akt this month in celebrating Black history, and help us to amplify Black voices and advocate for real change!

📣New role available📣 Are you based in London, Manchester, Bristol or Newcastle and want to help make a meaningful difference to the lives of #LGBTQ+ young people at risk of experiencing homelessness? 🌈 We are looking for a Digital Services Manager! Deadline: 29th of September 🔗 Find out more: https://lnkd.in/eu9uBP82

🎊 We are thrilled to announce that akt staff can now enjoy exclusive discounts on the things they love with a Blue Light Card!  🎊   Blue Light Cards offer discounts to members of the NHS and other key workers - and from today the scheme has been expanded for employees in the homelessness sector thanks to a new partnership with Homewards, the five-year programme created by Prince William and The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales to demonstrate that it’s possible to end homelessness.    We witness first-hand the dedication and hard work of our colleagues, and we're thrilled that they are now eligible to join over 4 million Blue Light Card members benefitting from over 15,000 discounts. 🔗 Find out more: https://lnkd.in/e2T8NZy7