Laying the First Brick - Homes for LGBTQ people.

First Brick Housing is an LGBTQ+ community-led and community-owned project. Together we want to build and provide housing designed for and by the LGBTQ+ community and those who face similar discrimination and prejudice to LGBTQ+ people.

We want to radically change the landscape of housing by taking property ownership away from landowners and unscrupulous landlords and putting it back into the hands of our community. We want to own land and build housing that sits in the hands of the community and to the benefit of the community forever. We aren't motivated by profit... we are motivated by love, community and the sense that living together as neighbors can make our time on this earth that safer and a little more joyous.

Until now, only a few community-led housing groups have been led by communities of 'identity,' such as the LGBTQ+ community. We want to change that. And we want to go beyond just amplifying the quietest voices in the community - we want to give those voices a platform and put them in the driving seat and the center of our operations.

We are not a closed group working on behalf of our community. We are the community. We are the young queer people who have been priced out of safe areas and are forced to live in areas we cannot be ourselves. We are ex-Jehovah's Witnesses who our families have cast out. We are black queer men harassed by our neighbors for who we love. And we are trans women being rejected for rented housing because of who we are.

As a community with very little, we turn to our friends, neighbors and allies for help. We have been fortunate to have received some funding already, which will cover the costs of our incorporation and some outreach and engagement events, which we will use to listen to the wants and needs of our community.

We want to be honest with you - this one fundraiser will not deliver our first homes. It will take time and cost more than we ever could (or would) ever ask of our community.

However, your donation will provide us is a step forward. It will support us in becoming a democratically-run and community-owned organisation. It will help us to develop our resources, to hire staff, and to make the connections we need to make this dream a reality.

Whether LGBTQ+ or a friend of our community, we wish you a warm welcome to First Brick and thank you for your support.