Just Like Us partners with akt on LGBT+ youth homelessness lesson resource for schools

Just Like Us, the LGBT+ young people’s charity, has partnered with LGBT+ youth homelessness charity akt on a free lesson resource for secondary schools.

A quarter of young people (24%) experiencing homelessness are LGBT+, according to akt’s 2021 – 2022 IMPakt report.

The lesson resource, created by Just Like Us in partnership with akt, aims to help pupils understand the causes and impact of LGBT+ youth homelessness, as well as ways to tackle it.

The lesson resource can be used during School Diversity Week 2023, the UK-wide celebration of LGBT+ equality in primary and secondary schools, or at any other time throughout the school year. 

The LGBT+ youth homelessness lesson resource can be downloaded for free by signing up for School Diversity Week, as well as all of Just Like Us’ resources, including subject-specific lesson plans, posters, videos, assembly slides and more for EYFS to KS4.

School Diversity Week 2023 will take place from 26 – 30 June. 

Amy Ashenden, interim CEO of Just Like Us, the LGBT+ young people’s charity, said: “I’m incredibly proud of the resource Just Like Us and akt have created together addressing the issue of LGBT+ youth homelessness.

“Homelessness disproportionately affects LGBT+ young people, and has consequences for their mental and physical health, relationships and employment options. By using the lesson resource, schools can help their pupils understand this issue and open up space for discussion, while also showing them that their classroom is a safe place and charities like Just Like Us and akt are there to support them.”

Hayley Speed, Assistant Director of Services for akt, said: “It is vitally important that schools are a place where young LGBT+ people are free to express themselves in a safe and encouraging atmosphere. We hope that the joint resources from akt and Just Like Us can be a key tool in helping schools identify if LGBT+ students are struggling, and facilitating an environment where LGBT+ young people are celebrated for who they are.”