L&Q achieves HouseProud Pledge Pioneer accreditation

We’re excited to announce that we’ve achieved Pledge Pioneer accreditation under the HouseProud LGBT+ Pledge Scheme, showing our commitment to delivering change for our LGBT+ residents. 

Achieving Pledge Pioneer status means that we’ve achieved substantial progress in delivering three core commitments:

• We’ve formal arrangements in place to consult with LGBT+ residents
• We’ve visibly promoted our commitment to LGBT+ resident inclusivity
• We’ve initiated a programme of staff training to improve understanding of LGBT+ resident lives

Pledge Pioneer status is a fantastic official recognition of the work we’ve been doing with the L&Q LGBT+ Forum and our staff network, Spectrum, to make us a more inclusive organisation.

The LGBT+ Forum is a resident led forum that seeks to amplify the voice and experience of our LGBT+ residents and promote and inform inclusive policy and practice at L&Q. Similarly, our staff network Spectrum are a huge driving force for equality and inclusion both inside and outside of the organisation.

Together we’ve supported the first resident led LGBT+ History Month event, conducted our own in-house research on the experiences of our LGBT+ residents, and worked to ensure that policies and processes are inclusive of our diverse resident base. Most recently, the LGBT+ Forum have been proactive in making sure that non-binary prefixes are introduced across all our resident forms.

All of this has also been recognised by Stonewall, who named us as a Top 100 Employer for 2020.

We’ll now continue to build on our success by working towards Pledge Plus status – an even higher level of accreditation that will see us continue working with residents to build inclusive communities and support services.

The Pledge Scheme was developed by HouseProud to address the issues raised by the findings of ‘No Place Like Home?’ (326kb pdf) This was the largest study ever undertaken to understand LGBTQ+ experiences of social housing.

Funded by us and five other large housing associations, the study found that despite many years of moves towards equality through various pieces of legislation, LGBTQ+ residents continue to experience discrimination in their everyday lives, including in relation to housing.

The Pledge Scheme was designed to tackle this discrimination and reflects key themes in the Social Housing Green and White Papers, including resident voice, accountability and two-way engagement between landlords and residents.

In achieving Pledge Pioneer status, we show our commitment to tackling discrimination in housing and becoming a more inclusive organisation. It’s a great sign that we’re heading in the right direction and that the work we’re doing is of real value and significance to our residents.

Michael Verrier, Chair of the L&Q LGBT+ Residents Forum, said, “We’re pleased to see the hard work that has gone into shaping the Pledge recognised. At its heart, the Pledge is about what we can all do, as a landlord and as neighbours, to ensure that all residents feel heard, safe, connected and part of a supportive neighbourhood.

Now the focus needs to be on bringing the Pledge to life for the benefit of all our residents and for the forum to continue meaningful dialogue with L&Q and other residents to deliver on its long term vision.”

For more information on the Pledge, please visit the HouseProud website or follow @LQLGBT on Twitter for updates.