As an Eastlight resident, I have a keen interest in making sure my needs, and the needs of my neighbours, are heard by Eastlight. That’s why I love being a member of Eastlight’s Customer Influence Committee (CIC), as that enables me to ask the right questions.

I identify as queer, but nobody at Eastlight has ever questioned me on this or made me feel judged. The fact that people don’t take any notice of my identity shows it doesn’t matter. I find Eastlight to be very welcoming: I feel taken in and accepted here.

For me, being proud is about being authentic to yourself and comfortable with who you are. I had a boyfriend one week and a girlfriend the next, and my Mum didn’t judge me. I couldn’t imagine being in a situation where I didn’t have that family support. Losing your home and that security prematurely, for something as simple as being yourself, is awful. We want every resident to come into a property and make it a home in which they feel safe and supported to be themselves.