sammy's story

Sammy is a 20-year-old trans woman who contacted us through our Live Chat after she was taken abroad by her parents due to her trans identity.

sammy’s experience with akt:

When they arrived, they took her passport and left her – in a country that is particularly hostile and dangerous for LGBTQ+ people. As Sammy has dual nationality, she wasn’t able to seek assistance from the British Embassy.

After contacting us online, we put Sammy in touch with a local LGBTQ+ charity where she was located who then paid for an emergency passport and Sammy’s flight back to the UK. Once she landed, Sammy was supported by akt through our Emergency Support Packs, while we then worked for three days with Sammy’s local authority to arrange emergency accommodation. After that, Sammy was then offered a place in supported accommodation in a city where she would not be at risk of seeing her family.

Sammy had no ID, no access to benefits and no bank account, as her parents had always controlled her finances. We worked with some of our partner organisations who provided legal advice and guidance and also helped Sammy to open her own bank account. After a difficult start. Sammy finally found someone to countersign her passport and, through our Independent Living Fund, we were able to pay for her replacement passport as well as her travel to the passport office.

Now that Sammy has begun to live more independently, she is now feeling more settled and is in a good place to start the next step in her journey. She is now focusing on her transition, looking for a job and planning to move into her own accommodation.

Please help us make sure that akt can continue supporting people like Sammy by becoming a supporter today. Thank you.

We believe no young person should have to choose between a safe home and being who they are. If you’d like to support our work with young LGBTQ+ people facing or experiencing homelessness, click here.