Orwell Housing Association is delighted to share that it has achieved LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge Pioneer status. The LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge, from HouseProud and Stonewall Housing, allows housing providers to demonstrate their unwavering commitment to creating inclusive, safe, and welcoming environments for all customers, including those from the LGBTQ+ community.

All social housing providers can sign up to the LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge. Achieving pioneer status requires providers to be committed to LGBTQ+ customer equality and support. They must demonstrate that LGBTQ+ customers can have input at executive / strategic level, increase LGBTQ+ visibility in their organisation by displaying the Pledge Scheme Logo on internal and external communication channels, and provide specific LGBTQ+ training to colleagues.  

Michelle Harrison, Director of People and Culture at Orwell, said, “At Orwell we are incredibly proud to have achieved the LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge Pioneer status, demonstrating our dedication to fostering diversity and inclusion. We are committed to continuous improvement and are now setting our sights on achieving the LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge Plus accreditation and continuing to move forward in our learning, awareness and support. This next level of recognition will involve further enhancing our policies, practices, and community engagement efforts to ensure that all our customers feel their voice is heard and feel valued and respected.”

“Alongside this, we are so pleased to be a sponsorship partner of the LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge scheme by contributing to a full-time role to support the scheme. We hope this will enable even more housing providers to sign up to the Pledge, further amplifying the voice of LGBTQ+ customers across the UK.”