We started our journey in 2018, founded by our Chair Trustee, who had identified a niche, underfunded sector and created a support system within the community due his own lived experiences of social, cultural and religious stigma affecting his sexual orientational preference. Coming from a Muslim background he was brought up by a culture and religion whose core beliefs are against any sexual preference other than heterosexual. In 2017 he had faced homelessness after he identified as being homosexual, which led him to experiment with devices he was morally against such as drinking alcohol in an attempt to escape his fate. However, he has recently reached four years sobriety, as alcohol had been a destructive part of his past. Therefore, this project is very close to our hearts, as organisers can sympathise with their own personal experiences, helping prevent others experiencing the same situations and outcomes.
We are based in Walsall, which geographically, is an area of high deprivation. Falling within the 10% most deprived areas in the country, according to the Government Indices of Multiple Deprivation. Which unfortunately, is reflected through the social neglection of LGBTQI+ and BAME individuals. As aforementioned, our organisation focused on a particular group who were substantially underrepresented and were slipping through the net. Therefore, we created a safe space for individuals from a LGBTQ+ and BAME background, providing social support to these particular groups who experience loneliness, isolation and disconnection from the community.
