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akt's Trans Pathway Peer Researcher Project

akt's Trans Pathway Peer Researcher Project

akt's Trans Pathway Peer Researcher Project

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

In July 2024, akt contracted two trans adults with personal experience of homelessness as peer researchers. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the delivery of their Trans Pathway project during its initial three-year period of funding by St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity.

The Background

St Martin's started funding akt's Trans Pathway project in 2021, through our Frontline Fund. The Frontline Fund was a project in which we made over £1.5 million of grants over three years, to support specific projects across the UK that are working to ensure everyone has a safe place to call home.

1 in 3 trans+ young people in the UK have experienced homelessness at some point. That is why we decided to fund the three year Trans Pathway project. We know that trans+ people often face additional barriers to accessing support with housing and homelessness. Trans Pathway’s aim was not to provide a segregated service, but rather, through advocacy, to improve trans inclusion in mainstream services and increase the options available for trans and non-binary young people in Greater Manchester.

akt have kindly written a blog, summarising the peer research project that was conducted to evaluate the Trans Pathway project. Please read on below.

The Peer Research Project

Learning from Greater Manchester’s Trans Pathway Project 

The Trans Pathway Project was a three-year pilot based in Greater Manchester funded by St Martin-in-the-Fields' Frontline Fund. The project supported nearly a hundred trans and non-binary young people facing homelessness or living in a hostile environment. 

Over the three-year pilot, staff and young people worked together to develop a powerful model of support. Our young people’s peer evaluation of the project described the Trans Pathway as "a well-needed example of a holistic project delivered by trans staff that has created a radically impactful service.” We are excited to share our learnings, which we hope will inspire others to develop projects and services that support trans young people facing homelessness. 

What is the Trans Pathway Model of support? 

The Trans Pathway model features three main components: 

  • holistic, trans-informed floating support & advocacy addressing specific barriers that trans young people face to access housing. 
  • Community-centred approach through youth group activities and being trans-led. 
  • A collaborative and transformative project facilitating multi-agency working and sharing learning and best practice to inspire change. 

On the pilot, these elements were provided by three full time staff: a Floating Support Worker, a Youth Engagement Worker and a Trans Pathway Manager; with support from volunteers, and youth leadership/co-production by young people on the project. 

Holistic, trans-informed support to access housing 

The Trans Pathway project offered advice, advocacy and wrap-around support provided by a floating support worker who is knowledgeable about housing/homelessness and trans experiences. 

Floating support centres around the need for safe housing, while looking broadly at the barriers to accessing and maintaining stable accommodation. 

These might include support to access ID and supporting documents in their correct name and gender marker; support to find employment or challenge discrimination they are facing at work; dealing with rent arrears, help with budgeting and household admin tasks like setting up utilities; and signposting to access healthcare, such as registering with an LGBT+ friendly GP. 

Common issues faced by young people on the project included fleeing from domestic abuse, facing transphobia from neighbours including physical assault and damage to property, and facing exclusion when trying to access mainstream support services. Disturbingly, akt's No Place Like Home research found that a third of trans+ young people faces homelessness. By having a broad remit, our floating support worker was able to undertake a wide range of work to prevent homelessness and address forms of hidden homelessness common in the trans community such as sofa surfing, survival sex work and living in dangerous or inaccessible accommodation, as well as supporting people who are street homeless; and provide ongoing light-touch support over a long period of time to prevent future homelessness. 

Community-centred project 

We found that trans young people can build skills their skills and confidence best when they are supported by their peers. The youth group provided opportunities to learn skills such as cooking and mending clothing, attend community events such as Trans Pride, and for young people to take the lead on planning youth-led projects. 

They were able to meet other young people with shared experiences. One young person said, “When I joined Trans Pathway I had never met another Desi, South Asian trans person before. I joined Trans Pathway, I met two… and it was like looking into a hopeful mirror.” 

Young people also told us about the positive impact of working with trans staff. Being supported by trans staff meant they did not have to educate staff about being trans, creating more feelings of trust and safety for young people who had previous negative experiences at other services.  

Collaboration and outreach 

Multi-agency working was crucial to the success of the project, allowing us to work with a broad range of services with varying specialisation. With young people’s consent, we convened multi-agency meetings and supported them in attending appointments. Multi-agency working can result in more joined-up support and prevent a young person from having to retell their story over and over again, which can be re-traumatising. 

It is also transformative: the project took an institutional advocacy approach, intentionally taking opportunities to work collaboratively with other services to share knowledge about supporting trans young people and increase their confidence and commitment to tackling transphobia. While specialist support provided by by-and-for services has a profound impact, it is equally important to create trans inclusion within mainstream services. The Trans Pathway also developed resources in consultation with young people and delivered talks and training to share our learnings, creating wider-reaching change.  

Peer Research 

We conducted a Peer Research project to uplift the voices and insights of young people we worked with. The Peer Research Report is a valuable resource for anyone working with trans young people or who would like to emulate our model. Here are a few quotes from the young people: 

  • “When I joined Trans Pathway I had never met another Desi, South Asian trans person before. I joined Trans Pathway, I met two… and it was like looking into a hopeful mirror.” 
  • "In a lot of other situations, I won’t really talk about being trans… When you talk about your housing problems and stuff, I think it’s not considered. A cis person wouldn’t know that a trans person is thinking about these things safety wise… But the staff here know that young people are thinking, ‘Am I safe in this place?’”  
  • “He helps me with my adult life because I’m neurodivergent […] A big one is that he helps me with my appointments. He helps me by coming to them with me, and also books them for me.” 
  • “I’m autistic, I have physical disabilities, I’m a queer trans person, I’ve struggled a lot with money, I’ve struggled a lot with getting jobs [...] Trans Pathway really helped me smooth that transition [into adulthood] and that is incredibly important.” 

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