As part of a short piece of research undertaken recently by PYL in preparation for the Every LGBT Youth Matters conference on 24 April, it became clear that there is real significance for CEIAG workers about signposting young people to appropriate activities and support. The greatest challenge is in identifying services that are available in each borough. A Freedom of Information request from the Consortium of LGBT Organisations to all the London Boroughs revealed the broad headline that only 12 out of the 33 claim to offer LGBT-specific services, though it was not clear that these were specifically for young people as opposed to generic services. PYL’s research, from the point of view of a young person trying to find what services were available, revealed similar numbers of services, but not necessarily the same ones. Searching was not easy: in one case the only local service appeared under Homophobia and Crime in the borough’s website, which was not appealing for a young person; and it required a good deal of persistence to find anything. A search under the boroughs’ Positive Activities website rarely revealed any targeted services.
Clearly, LGBT young people want access to universal services, too; and we should not forget that LGBT young people may also have needs across any of the other equalities strands. They shouldn’t be stereotyped into simply needing sexual health services: where they face rejection by their families, for example, they may need help with housing or personal safety. Those who are victims of bullying may need mental health support to enable them to engage actively with education or training or other aspects of their lives.
There will be a report from the conference that includes detailed information about the services that are available in London, and how they can be accessed. We will pass on the link to this report as soon as it becomes available.