Staff Blog: Celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month at Your Place

February is LGBTQ+ History Month, and part of our work in Your Place’s Belonging Group is ensuring that the lived experiences and diverse cultures of our community are respected and celebrated.

The Belonging Group is a voluntary group of staff from Your Place who come together to discuss the wellbeing and equity, diversity, and inclusion needs of both residents and staff. This can be wide ranging, but we are focused on a few different topics at any one time, to assess what we’re doing well and what more needs to be done to ensure everyone feels that they can be their true selves at Your Place.

Last year, we signed up to Stonewall Housing’s LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge accreditation, which supported our commitment to listening to people who live and work at Your Place, while broadening the way we think about equity, diversity, and inclusion, to accommodate the needs of both residents and staff now and in the future. This work helps to build a culture of community and care which runs throughout Your Place.

The Housing Pledge has been one of the Belonging Group’s priorities over the past year, alongside initiatives supporting anti-racism and neurodivergence, both in policy and in everyday practice. It’s really encouraging to see strong support for the accreditation at senior management level, particularly from our Chief Executive, Amanda, and Head of People, Lucy, as well as additional support from the Board.

The LGBTQ+ Staff Group are a small but mighty faction of the Belonging Group, and we’re committed to increasing the visibility of our work through resident-facing events, such as our Pride lunch event in June last year, and our LGBTQ+ History Month social this week (February 2026). This included a visual showcase of key LGBTQ+ trailblazers, refreshments, and queer pop hits. There were also resources from Stonewall Housing, and a list of specialist providers who residents can contact confidentially if they so wish. Above all, it was a social space in the communal hub of our building, with all residents and staff warmly encouraged to attend. Making a space that is safe and welcoming for everyone is really important in helping improve the self-esteem and confidence of our residents, who come to us from many different walks of life.

When we make sure that there are dedicated spaces and events whereby all residents feel safe, relaxed, and comfortable being themselves, we put our values of compassion, inclusion and collaboration into practice. Ensuring that everyone’s specific needs – whether these are based on their culture, identity, health or otherwise – are seen, heard and catered for, is really what the Belonging Group is all about.