Three organisations have have jointly won funding for research into the needs of lesbian and gay young people, this month.
The University of Greenwich, the Metro Centre and Ergo Consulting will all benefit from
a £500,000 award from the Big Lottery Fund Research Programme, which will be used to fund a national survey across England of 15,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people aged 16 to 24.
The young people will be asked questions about health, housing, education, employment, sexuality and discrimination.
The project is called National Youth Chances and will start on Thursday 1 July.
Lesbian and gay young people will be asked for their views in the form of two specifically-designed surveys of their life experiences, as well as in a number of focus groups. The results will be shared widely with decision-makers and organisations which provide services to young people in England including local authorities, health services and the voluntary and charitable sector.
The research will be carried out by the University of Greenwich; Ergo Consulting, which provides strategic consultancy on major projects; and the Metro Centre, an organisation that continues to lead the way on LGBT issues in the UK.
The project will be carried out over five years so change can be measured over a period of time.
Professor Liz West, Director of Research in the School of Health and Social Care at the University of Greenwich, says: “I am pleased that our bid for funding for this worthwhile project was approved. Thanks to the Big Lottery Fund Research Programme’s generosity, we will be able to capture information that will help us improve the lives and well-being of thousands of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender young people across the country.”
Greg Ussher, Director, Outreach and Community Development, Metro Centre, says: “Actual data relating to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people and their experiences is scarce. Because of a lack of information on this group, issues such as youth employment, education, health and welfare as they relate to LGBT young people are neglected and sometimes even denied. They are thought to have limited access to services which can result in poorer educational and health outcomes.”
Chris Markham from Ergo Consulting continues: “We know they are more likely to have mental health, drug and alcohol problems and more likely to self-harm and attempt suicide. This long-term research, the first of its kind in the UK, will help us understand the services most needed for young people on their journey to adulthood.”