Manchester’s LGB&T community came together in the city's gay village today to unveil a new commemorative rainbow tile to celebrate 20 years of homeless youth charity The Albert Kennedy Trust.
AKT was set up to help homeless LGBT’s after Albert Kennedy fell to his death 20 years ago from a Manchester multi storey car park, after being chased by a group of homophobic youths.
AKT Chief Executive, Tim Sigsworth and Manchester City Councillor Paul Fairweather spoke at the event, as founder of AKT Cath Hall and Albert’s mum Mary unveiled the rainbow tile.
Sigsworth remembered back to when he first found out about Kennedy’s death: “I was 19 and I was in New York New York. It was my first real brush with homophobia. Twenty years later and it’s still happening like we saw with Michael Causer last year.”
AKT have helped thousands of young people over their 20 year history and one of them – Dean Booth – was at the event to pay tribute to the organisation, he said: “I’ve got support and reassurance from AKT, I live with an AKT carer and I’ve got a mentor. I used to find it difficult to concentrate on work, but with the help of AKT I’m now at college and I’m building up my relationship with my mum. Without AKT I don’t know where I’d be.”
On the unveiling of the tile for her son, Kennedy’s mother Mary told The Pink Paper that she wanted to get more involved in the charity, “for Albert and for everyone else – it does so much in helping vulnerable young people.”
Cath Hall founder of AKT echoed Sigsworth’s comments: “In 1989 times were desperate for young people. We never envisaged it would be the same 20 years later. We also never imagined that AKT would become so important, dynamic, and all encompassing.”