A support service for members of the LGBTQ+ community who have faced homelessness will open in Stoke-on-Trent next week.

Phoenix Support Hub will launch at local homelessness charity Concrete on April 10. 

The service will deliver tailored support for people struggling with problems relating to their sexuality and gender, alongside homelessness and complex needs. 

Phoenix will start with individual telephone support via a twice weekly phone line. This will then progress to group meetings and in-person sessions in the city. 

L-R Rebecca Johnson, Dean Marsh, Steven Bellamy, Lisa Mould, Dawn Boult (Concrete).

The service will be run by both staff and volunteers, with an overall aim of bringing people together filling a gap in homelessness support. 

Service Manager Dean Marsh will head up the service on behalf of Concrete.

Dean said: "When I was doing my research for Phoenix, I was shocked to find out that there is absolutely nothing like it in the UK at the moment. 

"You can find LGBTQ+ support groups and homelessness services, but there isn't anything that specifically covers the two together. It really shocked us – it just shows how much we need to have this service, not just in Staffordshire but across the whole of the homelessness sector.

"We're so proud of the support hub and can't wait to launch it and watch it grow. We've got big ambitions and can't wait to get started."

Peer Mentor, Sterling Berry, has created the hub using his own experience of homelessness as an LGBTQ+ person (Concrete).

Peer Mentor Sterling Berry has used his lived experience of homelessness, and as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, to create the support hub.

He added: "At Phoenix, we're here to provide practical and emotional support, tailored to each person's individual needs.

"We believe that everyone has the right to be who they are and be accepted – no matter what they've been through. 

"At Phoenix we celebrate individuality and any expression of that individuality."

 Phoenix will run its weekly telephone support line every Monday and Friday, 12pm to 4pm, starting from April 10.

Call 07900 940559 or 07884 566420 to get in touch.

READ MORE: Plans submitted for new electric vehicle charging stations on Stoke coffee chain car park

Free from clickbait, pop-up ads and unwanted surveys, Stoke Nub News is a quality online newspaper for our city.

Please consider following Stoke Nub News on Facebook or Twitter.