Who akt helps#
akt is the national charity for LGBTQ+ young people facing homelessness. Its founder, a foster carer, named it in memory of Albert Kennedy, a young gay man who lost his life. It helps young people find safe homes, work, education and training where their identity is accepted. Its FAQs say it covers every region of England, as well as Wales and Scotland, and its support page says help is also available remotely.
You can use akt if you are aged 16 to 25, live in the UK, identify as LGBTQ+, and are one of these:
- homeless, including sofa-surfing at a friend's;
- living somewhere hostile, for example parents who became abusive after you came out, or a home where it is not safe to come out;
- at risk of homelessness, such as a landlord threatening to evict you.
If you are over 25, or not LGBTQ+, it says it will point you to other organisations.
How to reach akt#
The get immediate support page has a self-referral form, a form for professionals referring someone, and live chat, staffed on weekdays from 10am to 5pm. You can also email its help team. After first contact, akt checks it is the right service and then you meet a caseworker. Support can include emergency help to get somewhere safe, housing advice and a case to your council, help with benefits and budgeting, and finding community. If you need a bed tonight, the page links Nightstop, Shelter and your council. In an emergency, call 999.
What its benefits guide says about ID and your name#
akt's online hub has a guide to claiming benefits whilst homeless. It explains that you can claim Universal Credit without a permanent address, using a trusted person, hostel or Jobcentre as a "care of" address, and without knowing your National Insurance number. On identity, it says:
- Photo ID such as a passport or driving licence is usually asked for. Without it, tell the Jobcentre at your first appointment and ask for an ID appointment, where other evidence such as a GP letter, bank statements or a tenancy agreement can be used.
- A birth certificate may be requested, and can be ordered online if you were born in the UK.
- If your name changed by deed poll, take that too, in case your previous name is on the system or on other ID.
- No bank account? It describes the Payment Exception Service and a bank's no-fixed-address scheme run through charity partners.
Changing your name when money and housing are uncertain#
A new name on paper can matter when you are rebuilding everything else at once. Making your own deed poll is free from 16: you copy GOV.UK's wording, sign it in front of two adults, and no one has to approve it. Can I get a deed poll for free? takes you through it. A deed poll usually includes your address; if yours needs to stay private, keeping your address off your records explains your options.
For the benefits side, changing your name with DWP explains how to update a name on your claim, and advice and housing charities lists others who help with both.
This page describes what akt publishes on its own website, read on 26 October 2026. akt has not reviewed it, and including a charity here does not mean it recommends this handbook or any deed poll service.
