‘Safe to Be Me’: How we’re tackling hate crime

This Pride Month, Eastlight Community Homes proudly stands with our LGBTQIA+ residents and allies.

Through EastPride, our dedicated LGBTQIA+ staff and resident network, we’re celebrating inclusion and taking action to make our communities safer for everyone. From launching our resident safety campaign to sponsoring local Pride events, we are committed to driving meaningful change.

LGBTQIA+ people are far more likely to experience hate crime – and many choose not to report it. According to akt’s No Place Like Home report, 32% of LQBTQ+ people felt their neighbourhood was not a safe place to live – and this figure rises to 60% amongst Trans people.

We know this issue continues to affect our communities – and we’re committed to being part of the solution.

Eastlight is a Hate Crime Reporting Centre. We take a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime and discrimination in our homes and communities. If you, or someone you know, have had a negative experience or need to report hate crime, then please do report it here.

Our trained officers will make sure you get the support you need to report confidently and safely.

Safe to be Me

This month, we’ve launched our new campaign, ‘Safe to be Me’, which aims to raise awareness of LGBTQIA+ hate crime and empowers residents to speak out, access support, and help us to shape more inclusive services.

Residents who have told us they are LGBTQIA+ will receive an invitation to complete a short, anonymous survey. The feedback will help us understand what more we can do to support our communities and improve the services we offer.

If you’ve not received an invite to complete the survey but would like to, please get in touch here.

We will also be sharing real stories and insights from LGBTQIA+ residents to help break down barriers, encourage openness and build a culture of inclusion. If you would like to share your experience, then please do so.

Join us at Pride

We’re proud to be the main sponsor of Braintree Pride this year. Come and visit us at Weavers Park from 12pm on Saturday 26 July to meet the team and learn more about our work.

We’ll also be at Essex Pride on Saturday 21 June at Central Park, Chelmsford, marching proudly and hosting a stall from 10am – with some goodies to share!

By speaking up, showing up and standing together, we can build communities where everyone feels safe, heard and respected – not just during Pride, but all year round.