Overview
There’s No Place Like Home is a national research report published by akt examining the causes and experiences of homelessness among LGBTQ+ young people in the UK.
Drawing on lived experience, service data and qualitative research, the report highlights how LGBTQ+ young people face heightened risk of homelessness due to family rejection, discrimination, poverty and a lack of inclusive support. It also explores how mainstream housing and homelessness systems often fail to meet their specific needs.
The findings are highly relevant to organisations working to prevent youth homelessness, underlining the importance of inclusive, trauma-informed and youth-specific approaches.
What the report covers
The report explores the realities of LGBTQ+ youth homelessness, with a focus on:
- Routes into homelessness, including family conflict, rejection and unsafe home environments.
- Experiences within homelessness systems, including discrimination, fear and lack of appropriate support.
- The impact on wellbeing, including mental health, safety and long-term outcomes.
- Barriers to accessing housing, such as affordability, insecurity and exclusion.
- What effective support looks like, based on what LGBTQ+ young people say they need.
The report makes clear that homelessness among LGBTQ+ young people is not inevitable, but shaped by social attitudes, policy decisions and service design.
Why this matters for youth homelessness
LGBTQ+ young people are over-represented among those experiencing youth homelessness. Without inclusive and affirming support, they are more likely to experience:
- Early and repeated homelessness.
- Poor mental health and isolation.
- Disengagement from education, training or employment.
- Reduced trust in statutory services.
The report reinforces the need for early intervention, safe spaces, and services that recognise and respond to the specific experiences of LGBTQ+ young people, rather than treating them as an afterthought within generic provision.
Rock Trust’s perspective
Rock Trust is committed to providing inclusive, youth-specific services that work for all young people, regardless of identity or background.
The findings in this report align closely with what we see in practice: young people who experience discrimination or rejection are at increased risk of homelessness, and require support that is safe, respectful and tailored to their needs.
Preventing youth homelessness for LGBTQ+ young people requires:
- Early, relationship-based support before crisis point.
- Inclusive service design that recognises identity and lived experience.
- Safe, stable housing options alongside wraparound emotional and practical support.
- System-wide change, so young people are not excluded by default.
We use evidence like this to inform our services, strengthen our policy influencing, and advocate for systems that promote fairness, safety and long-term stability.