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Who we are

We are LGBTIQ+ colleagues, friends & activists who work in the Homeless sector & have lived experience of homelessness & the unique, complex issues our community face. We volunteered to launch the UK’s first LGBTIQ+ Crisis/Homeless Shelter & Community Centre. We launched publicly at London Pride 2017, campaigning alongside the passionate & talented LGBTIQ+ community of activists & artists.

the two founders of the outside project
Project founders Carla & Laik attaching the banner to the Pride Punx float at London Pride – July 2017

Community Center Timetable

Monday

Closed Groups

Tuesday

Homelessness Recovery Group 9:30 - 10:30

Tea Morning with Groundswell 10:30 - 12:30

2nd Tuesday of the month: African Rainbow Family 18:00 - 21:00

Wednesday

Community Social 18:00 - 21:00

Thursday

Closed Groups

Friday

Screenprinting 15:00-20:00 (referral only)

Sunday

Taekwondo and meditation 17:00 - 19:00 (referral only)

First Sunday of every month - LGBTQIA+ Cancer Peer Support Group

January Activities

The Shelter

During the summer 2017 we crowdfunded £11.5k. This enabled us to buy a 12 bed tour bus to host the shelter that winter. Through ongoing support from the community & grant funding from the local authority we were able to deliver a professional shelter &demonstrating the need for this vital service on a year round basis.

three people siiting under a dome
To celebrate the arrival of the shelter in the area ahead of its opening, local groups met to present their projects & do a walk of solidarity, followed by a sleep-in at the shelter. November 2017.

Community Centre

The shelter has a community centre at its heart to reach those more at risk of rough sleeping & bring together our community so that marginalised groups do not feel left ‘outside’. The centre will be a mix of cultural & artistic hub, offering safe daytime refuge & cafe space alongside queer led services, pop-up businesses & co-working space for marginalised groups. Holistic case work, advice, housing & employment support will be delivered by Stonewall Housing.
We will be collaborating with several LGBTIQ+ groups to make good use of the space, such as Queerseum, African Rainbow Family & Friends of the Joiners Arms.

Our Mission

The Outside Project is a homeless/crisis shelter & Community Centre in response to those within the LGBTIQ+ community who feel endangered, who are homeless, ‘hidden’ homeless & feel that they are on the outside of services due to historical & present prejudice in society & in their homes. Our aims:

Visibility, fundraising & promotion

We host & attend events & fundraisers to promote the project, reaching members of the community that hadn’t considered themselves to be in crisis or at risk of homelessness. We run workshops & sober spaces at community events eg: Pride events, Grassmovement Festival, Lush on Oxford Street & the Lush Summit, Teen Challenge, Trans Pride, youth camps.
We are very active on social media, building a large following across sites.

News

26-08-2019

OUTSIDE PROJECT FUNDRAISER

 
 🎉 CONGRATULATIONS! Thankyou for supporting the project by donating your wedding gifts to us. We wish you all of the happiness 💕 #homelessLGBTIQsolidarity #LGBTIQcommunitycentre

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23-08-2019

Sheffield's LGBT-only halls were called a ghetto – but a year on, they're thriving

It was a controversial decision for the university to open the flats, but it’s helped residents gain the confidence to mingle 

A year ago, the University of Sheffield made headlines when we became the first UK university to launch LGBT-only flats in our accommodation. Much of the coverage was based on untruths and exaggeration, conjuring images of huge rainbow-clad buildings where all gay students were forced to stay. 

The reality was far less dramatic: 32 students in seven flats scattered among the three student villages, with no way of being identified aside from by their tenants. It was hardly the “ghettoising” we were accused of.

 The debate hit the news during my first week as the students’ union welfare officer. The project was a result of a partnership between the university and the students’ union LGBT committee. As an LGBT activist myself, I initially had concerns. But my worries were quickly assuaged when I did what lots of news outlets didn’t: actually talk to the students concerned.

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