The Albert Kennedy Trust
Encyclopedia
The Albert Kennedy Trust is a voluntary organisation based in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, created in 1989 to serve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

) young people who are homeless, living in a hostile environment or in housing crisis. It started in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...

 in 1989 and opened in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in 1996.

History

The Trust is named after Albert Kennedy (January 31, 1973 - April 30, 1989), a 16-year-old Social Services care leaver from Manchester. He died after falling from a car park roof in Manchester city centre
Manchester City Centre
Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England. It lies within the Manchester Inner Ring Road, next to the River Irwell...

, while being chased by several attackers in a car. Albert was a runaway from a children's home in Salford.

Manchester’s gay community was moved into action by the Trust’s founder patron Cath Hall, a heterosexual foster carer who admitted she could not meet the full range of needs of LGBT young people in her care.

As a result, the Albert Kennedy Trust was formed in 1990.

Support

The trust was founded on the premise that young LGBT people needed somewhere to go if they were kicked out of their parental home or the care system. Volunteers (single people, couples and families) with a spare room can give an LGBT young person a home, from a few nights to two years. All carers are assessed and trained to ensure they are appropriate and able to take on these roles. There is also a bank of trained volunteer Mentors and Befriender
Befriender
Befrienders are carefully selected volunteers, from a variety of organisations and mental health charities, who are trained to provide support and companionship to lonely, or emotionally distressed, people. Befrienders will usually visit for an hour or so per week. The meeting is usually arranged...

s, who can spend a couple of hours a week with an LGBT young person who needs a friendly ear or practical support.

The Trust also provided services in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

 starting in 2003, but due to funding issues had to withdraw from the city in May 2006..

It has traditionally gained funding through individual donations and grants from such bodies as Association of London Government
Association of London Government
London Councils is the local government association for London, England, bringing together representatives of the 32 London Boroughs and the City of London Corporation, the Metropolitan Police Authority and the London Fire Brigade who are all members by subscription...

, Comic Relief, the Princess Diana Memorial Fund, and Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council is the local government authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. It is composed of 96 councillors, three for each of the 32 electoral wards of Manchester. Currently the council is controlled by the Labour Party and is led by...

 .

The Trust marked its 16th anniversity of formally becoming a Trust in June 2006 with a House of Lords reception by Patron Lord Alli. The occasion was also marked by an Early Day Motion
Early day motion
An Early Day Motion , in the Westminster system, is a motion, expressed as a single sentence, tabled by Members of Parliament for debate "on an early day" . Controversial EDMs are not signed by Government Ministers, PPS or the Speaker of the House of Commons and very few are debated on the floor...

 in the House of Commons .

The Trust currently employs a Chief Executive, two placement workers and an administrative team.

On January 5, 2007, Sir Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...

 became a patron of the trust, joining existing patrons Julie Hesmondhalgh
Julie Hesmondhalgh
Julie Hesmondhalgh is an English actress.Hesmondhalgh was born in Accrington, Lancashire. As a teenager, she was moderately interested in acting, but wished to become a social worker. She applied to drama school to be with her friends, and studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art...

and Lord Alli.

External links

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