Honeycomb Group: How to deliver effective LGBTQ+ homelessness support

To mark LGBT+ History Month, we caught up with Dean Marsh, operations manager for community housing at Concrete, Honeycomb Group’s homelessness service, to find out how they’re supporting LGBTQ+ community members affected by homelessness. 

Dean, can you explain a bit about your role and what it involves? 

As operations manager for community housing, I oversee more than 100 Concrete homes in Stoke-on-Trent and Cheshire East. When I noticed a gap in the sector for Phoenix to provide dedicated support for LGBTQ+ homeless people, I really wanted to take the project under my wing. 

I’m part of the LGBTQ+ community myself, so I wanted to make sure that our LGBTQ+ customers felt comfortable within our service and had somewhere that they could feel safe and accepted, where the unique issues and frustrations they face are understood and recognised. 

The development of Phoenix and the launch of our supported accommodation, Phoenix House, has been a real journey. I’m grateful to the support of my colleagues across Honeycomb Group for their support and hard work in making the service what it is today. 

When was Phoenix established? 

Phoenix launched in April 2023. The service began with a support hub, including a weekly telephone advice line. This month (February 2024), the service will expand to include Phoenix House, a supported accommodation scheme for members of the LGBTQ+ community. 

How many people has Phoenix so far supported? 

Since launching last year, Phoenix has provided support to more than 50 people. 

How is Phoenix funded? 

Phoenix Support Hub is not funded – our phone line is manned by peer mentors who donate their time and lived experience to offer support. However, as Phoenix developed, we were thrilled to receive support from Stoke-on-Trent City Council. 

In July 2023, with their guidance, we secured funding from the government’s Rough Sleeping Initiative to recruit a dedicated LGBTQ+ caseworker. This person works as part of the Phoenix service to deliver tailored support to this customer group. 

Our new Phoenix House accommodation will become part of our wider Concrete ‘Destination:Home’ service, which is funded by Stoke-on-Trent City Council and delivers support to people in housing crisis across the city.

How important is it to be able to provide homelessness support services to the LGBTQ+ community? 

Stonewall research shows almost one in five LGBTQ+ people have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives, and according to AKT, 77 per cent of LGBTQ+ young people gave “family rejection, abuse or being asked to leave home’’ as a cause of their homelessness. 

Sadly, it is not uncommon for an LGBTQ+ person to come out, be rejected by their family and asked to leave their home at a young age. It’s traumatic enough facing homelessness, let alone when you’re also dealing with gender and sexuality issues and have been isolated from your support network. 

It’s a growing problem and something that we’re not only seeing nationally, but also in our customers at Concrete. Through the work we do with Phoenix, we want to change the stats. 

How much of a need is there for services like Phoenix? 

There is a huge gap when it comes to homelessness support for the LGBTQ+ community. There are some fantastic organisations offering homelessness and LGBTQ+ support separately, but not necessarily that combined support that is so important.  

Sadly, it is not uncommon for an LGBTQ+ person to come out, be rejected by their family and asked to leave their home at a young age

The LGBTQ+ community still faces discrimination, and members can feel unsure about who they can trust because of this. This is also true when it comes to accessing services. Individuals may not feel comfortable opening up about their true selves, for fear of judgement, which in turn can lead to them not accessing support at all. 

How does Phoenix fit within Concrete/Honeycomb’s wider homelessness support offering? 

We recognise that, for Phoenix customers, their experiences of homelessness and complex needs can be very different to our non-LGBTQ+ customers. By having a dedicated LGBTQ+ caseworker, we can provide tailored and considered support that recognises and meets their needs. 

The caseworker can guide customers with housing-related issues, but they’re also able to support them through gender and sexuality struggles. Some of our Phoenix customers are transgender, so we guide them through that transition process. This could be anything from helping them change their name and find gender-affirming clothes, to securing healthcare appointments to start hormone therapy. 

At Concrete and the wider Honeycomb Group, we know that a home is much more than simply bricks and mortar. It’s somewhere you can feel safe, thrive and most importantly be yourself. Providing all this extra support, alongside a house, is key to achieving positive outcomes for Phoenix customers. 

What advice would you give to other housing associations interested in setting up or facilitating their own service tailored to LGBTQ+ individuals? 

What makes Phoenix so special is that it’s completely informed by lived experience. We’ve worked with our LGBTQ+ customers, mentors and staff, as well as strong allies to the community, to ensure that their voice runs throughout the service. 

My biggest piece of advice for other housing associations wanting to incorporate dedicated LGBTQ+ support would be to listen to your customers who are impacted by these issues. They can offer an incredible insight into what you should be doing because they face the issues you’re trying to solve every single day and know what would help. 

Phoenix was recently shortlisted at the Totally Stoked awards. What does it mean to receive such recognition? 

To be recognised as a finalist for a local award, in our very first year of operation, is incredible. We were over the moon to be shortlisted for ‘Breakthrough Award: Project’, and it really is testament to the passion and hard work of our Phoenix team. 

I think it also highlights how needed LGBTQ+ homelessness support is in our area, so it was great to have that support from Totally Stoked.

Main image: Dean Marsh, operations manager for community housing, Concrete