AKT - Albert Kennedy Trust

Your safety is our priority. When we can’t help you to stay safely at home, we may be able to help find you a secure and supportive place to stay.

Our Purple Door project has a mix of emergency, medium and long term accommodation in London, Manchester and Newcastle.

This includes our Independent Living project in Newcastle and Northumberland which offers a mix of self-contained flats and bedsits for up to 18 months.

Our Supported Lodgings project has a network of volunteer carers in London and Manchester who can provide a room in a safe home and family environment.

AKT also works with housing providers in London, Manchester & Newcastle who may also be able to meet your need for safe housing. Throughout your stay with AKT we will help you get your life back on track and move on.

We run a whole range of life skills and tenancy training, including:

• Job Skills
• CV Writing
• Confidence Building
• Cooking and Household Maintenance
• Telephone Skills
• Making the Most of Your Budget
• Managing Difficult Situations

During these sessions you will learn new skills, gain qualifications and meet other young people who understand what you are going through.

"Right now I’ve got my own place and I’m retaking my GCSEs. Without the help from The Albert Kennedy Trust I don’t think that would have been possible."

AKT has a team of trained mentors who can help you move your life forward positively Mentoring can help you with:

• Coming to terms with your identity
• Helping your parents understand
• Job hunting
• Juggling your money
• Keeping on top of school or college work
• Meeting other people your age who understand you

And lots more. The help they give will depend on what you want and need.

"I had threats of violence from relatives who see my sexuality as a cause of family shame. Despite all I have been through, I am proud to say I am making good progress."

If you feel frustrated or unable to talk to people in authority when asking for help, AKT may be able to help you get the support and services you are entitled to. Our team of staff and volunteer advocates know how to get the best for you. If you are unhappy with how you are being treated they will write letters of support, come with you to meetings, talk to decision makers and can explain your rights to make sure they aren’t ignored.

AKT runs a program of activities and events to help you:

• Play an active role in helping us develop future services for you
• Meet other young people like you
• Have fun and learn - from arts based projects with local theaters and artists, to trips, activities and Prides.

My home life had always been quite complex and after leaving University unexpectedly, I decided that I didn’t want to return home but instead moved to Manchester.

I found myself feeling very adrift and isolated. I came to AKT as I felt like I had nobody to talk to and as an LGBT organisation I felt confident that they would understand and be able to help me with the problems I was having at the time.

AKT helped me by getting me involved in the mentoring scheme. This was a big thing for me as it gave me somebody to talk to about all of the things that were going on in my life and I felt as though I could talk to somebody who wouldn’t judge me or my experiences. The mentoring scheme basically gave me someone who understood what I was going through, something that I felt I did not have in Manchester.

Since working with AKT, I am proud to say that I feel much happier and confident in myself, I have successfully moved to London and have an interview for a degree at University in the next few weeks that I am thrilled about.