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Your Story Can End LGBTIQ+ Youth Homelessness!
Did you know?
Countless LGBTIQ+ young people and children under 18 live away from their home and have to get by on their own. Many are kicked out by their parents or guardians because of who they are; many decide to run away because it has become unsafe for them to stay. Some turn to other relatives and friends; others seek help from social services and shelters.
Yet, not all homeless LGBTIQ+ children and young people know where to go, and not all social services and professionals are equipped with the right tools and knowledge to support their specific needs. With this in mind, the Young, Queer & Away from Home project aims to support both these target groups through research, training, resources, campaigning, and policy recommendations.
Take our surveys
To better understand what leads to these situations, how to prevent them, how to best support LGBTIQ+ children and young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, and how to equip social services with the right tools to provide specific support related to LGBTIQ+ identities, we are currently running two anonymous multilingual surveys:
🧩 Survey for LGBTIQ+ Young People with Lived Experience
The first survey is addressed to LGBTIQ+ young people between 18 and 29 years old who had to live away from their home before turning 18 in the EU (e.g. ran away, were kicked out, were homeless, had to stay in a shelter or with friends/other relatives, etc). The survey is available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Polish and Russian. The deadline is 31 August 2025.
🧩 Survey for Practitioners & Service Providers
The second survey is addressed to practitioners & service providers (e.g. homeless shelters, LGBTIQ+ organisations, refugee centres, child protection services, social services, etc.) in the EU who have supported LGBTIQ+ children and young people under 18 who had to live away from their home (e.g. they ran away, were kicked out, were homeless, etc.). The survey will be available from Tuesday 22 July onwards in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Polish and Russian. The deadline is 31 August 2025.
Sign up for an interview
Whether you are an LGBTIQ+ young person with lived experience or a practitioner, you can also sign up for an interview, where we will explore your experience more in depth.
Share our surveys
If you do not belong to any of these two target groups, you can still support our project by sharing the surveys on social media and to people with relevant experience. You can use this communications kit with ready-made posts and visuals. Any support in the dissemination of the surveys is a great step towards supporting LGBTIQ+ young people and children (at risk of) experiencing homelessness and exclusion.
Questions
For any questions, please contact Professor Karen Shalev (She/her), School of Criminology and Justice of the University of Portsmouth, at karen.shalev@port.ac.uk.
We thank you in advance for your time and support!
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“LGBTIQ+ Missing — The voice of LGBTIQ+ young people with experience of going missing before the age of 18” is co-led by Missing Children Europe, IGLYO, and the University of Portsmouth, and co-funded by the European Union under the call CERV-2023-EQUAL (project number 101144825).