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Issue 45 • Friday 27 March - Thursday 9 April 2009

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MOWED DOWN? Council accused of putting tidy grass before homeless gay teens

BY TOM HEWITSON

COUNCILLORS ARE AT WAR over whether a new scheme to help get homeless gay kids off the street is needed in Brighton. The proposals, passed at a meeting last week despite Tory opposition, would see housing staff trained by LGBT homelessness charity, The Albert Kennedy Trust. For the plans to become policy they must still be ratified by the Conservative Cabinet Member for Housing. Green Councillor Bill Randall put forward the motion after claiming a previous budget meeting had turned down the plans because the Tories wanted to spend the money on cutting grass. Housing Cabinet Member Maria Caulfield defended that decision stating that all housing staff are already trained by Allsorts, a local LGBT youth charity.

“Allsorts is a very good organisation but it’s not a specialist housing organisation” says Randall. “The Albert Kennedy Trust is a niche service that provides a very important, specialist, resource that will complement what other groups are doing”. Councillor Randall went on to claim that he had no idea why Conservative members oppose the plans. “Rather than bring in another service provider we want to provide services that are sustainable” says Councillor Dee Simmons, Conservative Member for Equality. “We’re providing a new LGBT housing strategy and LGBT housing officer that is probably costing a lot more than the proposals.” A 2002 study by the University of Brighton showed the extent of homelessness in the city, with nearly a fifth of gay men having, at some stage, traded sex for a roof over their head.

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