Brighton council asked to support homeless gay teens
The Green party group on Brighton and Hove City Council has proposed measures that would improve support for young LGBT people with housing and homelessness problems in the budget for 2009/10.
The Greens have 12 councillors, the Labour party has 13.
The Conservatives have 26 councillors and are in power with a minority administration.
“We are proposing an allocation of £3,000 to fund the council’s membership of the Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT) national Quality Assurance Mark,” said Cllr Bill Randall, who is leading on the budget for the Greens.
“For a modest amount of money AKT will provide training sessions for housing staff and carry out an annual audit of the services offered to young people from the LGBT community with housing problems.
“Young service users are involved at every stage of the delivery of the mark.
“Homelessness among this group is a serious issue for the city.
“More than 20 per cent of gay men interviewed in 2000 for a survey of the LGBT community in Brighton and Hove had been homeless at some point, and 18 per cent told Brighton University researchers they had traded sex for a roof over their head.
“AKT works in London and Manchester and has a wealth of experience in this field. We believe this experience can be put to good and cost-effective use in Brighton and Hove.”
The council will consider the budget proposal at a meeting today.
