BAME in Property adds LandAid to 2021 charity partners
BAME in Property is pleased to add LandAid, the property industry charity, to its 2021 charity partners, to help raise awareness about homelessness within BAME communities.
This is part of LandAid’s Networks Against Homelessness initiative, bringing together 10 networks and membership organisations from across the built environment sector to help achieve its mission to end youth homelessness.
Founding members are: BAME in Property, Building Equality, Freehold, Ladies in Real Estate, London Property Alliance, Luxury Property Forum, Real Estate Balance, RE Women UKAA and ULI.
Youth homelessness adversely affects young people from minority backgrounds with 27% of young people accessing services coming from BAME communities and 24% of young people identifying as LGBTQ+.
Moved by this shocking statistic and the risks young LGBTQ+ homeless people face, Freehold led by its co-chair, David Mann, joined other property networks to create Networks Against Homelessness and pledge to support LandAid’s mission to end youth homelessness, particularly among LGBTQ+ people. The aim of Networks Against Homelessness is to harness the collective membership of leading real estate and construction networks to work together to help LandAid achieve its aim to end youth homelessness.
BAME in Property has chosen to support this important charity because youth homelessness within BAME communities is significantly high and the reasons for homelessness often encompass cultural and religious factors, requiring diverse perspectives to be understood.
We cannot talk about homelessness without acknowledging the significant systemic racism, which impacts Black (and other ethnic minority) families and their access to housing finance, services and support.
Statutory homelessness figures released by the government on 1 October 2020, showed that Black people are three times more likely to experience homelessness. Additionally, a quarter of people making homelessness applications to local councils are from BAME groups, even though they make up just 11% of all households. Underlying these statistics are a whole host of reasons leading to BAME homelessness, such as multigenerational living, overcrowding and exposure to pollution. In particular, we cannot talk about homelessness without acknowledging the significant systemic racism, which impacts Black (and other ethnic minority) families and their access to housing finance, services and support.
Paul Morish, Chief Executive, LandAid says: “LandAid is proud to bring together such a diverse range of networks and membership organisations to unite behind our mission. The built environment sector is working hard to improve diversity and inclusion and many of Networks Against Homelessness have a key role in improving this. A big thanks to David for spearheading this initiative – one which will make a huge impact on our mission and take us steps closer to ending youth homelessness.”
Priya Shah, Founder and Director of BAME in Property says: “I am really pleased to add LandAid to our charity partners and help raise awareness about an incredibly important issue. Working together with other networks and companies, we hope to amplify our impact and outreach. This is not only to support vulnerable people but due to our social responsibility - going beyond bricks and mortar and supporting the development of thriving communities.”
From 8-14th February 2021, BAME in Property will be running a social media campaign to educate the industry and beyond about homelessness within BAME communities. Look out for this content on our LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram pages.
BAME in Property will be supporting LandAid throughout 2021, alongside its other charity partner, Binti Period, a charity that ensures every girl has menstrual dignity. You can learn more about BAME in Property’s charity partners on our website here: https://www.bameinproperty.com/partners.