0:01

point made the center

0:01

point podcast spy on people for

0:03

all people. center point is the UK is

0:07

leading youth homelessness

0:10

charity. At centre point, we

0:10

believe no young person's life

0:15

should be defined by

0:15

homelessness. We give young

0:19

people the support they need to

0:19

heal and grow no matter what.

0:23

for over 50 years, we've been

0:23

the center point for change,

0:26

personal and political. Everyone

0:26

has their part to play. With

0:32

young people leading the way.

0:32

This podcast has been created by

0:36

young people with lived

0:36

experience of homelessness will

0:41

be shining a spotlight on some

0:41

of the issues that affect us. We

0:46

hope to challenge and change

0:46

some of the stereotypes and

0:49

bring others with us as part of

0:49

the movement to end youth

0:53

homelessness for good. This time, we're recording from

1:02

one of center points partners

1:05

cat footwear. At the end of the

1:05

episode, there will be a short

1:08

interview with Daisy flowed from

1:08

cat footwear, where we talked to

1:12

her about the partnership with

1:12

Centerpoint and how they support

1:15

the charities work. But in the

1:15

meantime, thank you for

1:18

supporting the podcast. Welcome

1:18

to pipe made the centerpoint

1:22

podcast by young people for all

1:22

people. I'm Meg, my pronouns are

1:27

she her. I'm a media officer at

1:27

Centerpoint. I'm the co chair of

1:32

the LGBTQ plus inclusion group.

1:32

In today's episode, we'll be

1:37

discussing the realities of

1:37

being LGBTQ plus, female and

1:41

homeless, and what it's like

1:41

when these identities intersect

1:45

with different cultural

1:45

backgrounds and upbringings too.

1:49

We will also be talking about

1:49

what it means to be out and

1:51

proud and the challenges this

1:51

brings. But before we get into

1:55

the discussion, I'd like to

1:55

introduce our panel. Please,

1:59

could you introduce yourselves

1:59

and tell me why you wanted to

2:02

come on this podcast? Hi, I'm Maya. And my pronouns

2:04

are she. And I work for

2:09

Stonewall housing, which is more

2:09

important than ever in the cost

2:14

of living crisis. We're seeing a

2:14

huge spike of homelessness, so I

2:18

thought it was important to

2:18

speak about it. Hi,

2:21

I'm Hannah. I'm a young person

2:21

from centerpoint. I used to live

2:25

there. Last year, I lived there

2:25

for seven months and are

2:28

supported by them in every way.

2:28

And yeah, luckily now I'm in a

2:34

better place. I've got a job.

2:34

I've got a house. So a lot of it

2:39

was thanks to Centerpointe as well. Thank you. Hi, I'm Maria. I'm 22. My

2:42

pronouns are she and she her and

2:46

I'm also a young person from

2:46

sens point. And I'm here on this

2:49

podcast to bring some more

2:49

awareness on what it's like to

2:52

be LGBTQ and homeless. Tool. Thanks, everyone. So we

2:54

know from research by Albert

2:59

Kennedy trust that a quarter of

2:59

homeless young people are LGBTQ

3:03

plus, many of these have been

3:03

rejected from their families

3:06

because of their sexuality. And

3:06

others have been fleeing abusive

3:11

situations. So Maya, what is it

3:11

that you've seen happening that

3:16

Stonewall housing. So at

3:18

Stonewall housing, we have quite

3:18

a variety of people who come and

3:23

ask to use our services. Quite a

3:23

large proportion of those people

3:28

come from ethnic minority

3:28

backgrounds. I think there was a

3:32

statistic that in 2020 82% of

3:32

people who used our services,

3:39

attributed their homelessness or

3:39

their situation, to cultural and

3:44

religious reasons as to why they

3:44

became homeless. So it's a huge

3:49

spike. And I think in the

3:49

discussion about homelessness, I

3:55

think sometimes culture and

3:55

religion gets put on the

3:58

backburner and people forget

3:58

about it. And I think especially

4:03

like I know, from being from a

4:03

minority background, how much

4:08

your family relationships are

4:08

also to do with your financial

4:13

stability, your emotional

4:13

stability, everything like that.

4:16

So when those things get

4:16

uprooted it you know, we have

4:20

people who come to us who are

4:20

really in dire situations. I

4:25

started up an organization

4:25

during lockdown, specifically

4:29

for queer people of color. And

4:29

we we figured that such a huge

4:35

issue amongst that community in

4:35

particular was homelessness, and

4:40

being rejected by family because

4:40

of sexuality. Which was another

4:45

reason I wanted to move over to

4:45

sustainable housing. But for

4:48

myself, I have been really I'd

4:48

be really lucky with my housing

4:51

situation. But I see all the

4:51

time. And it's really Yeah, it's

4:56

really awful to see to be honest. Yeah, really, and To my assets

4:59

regarding coming from an ethnic

5:04

minority and being LGBTQ, I

5:04

mean, there's literally the

5:09

reason for my homelessness and

5:09

me going to Centerpoint is

5:12

because they're very religious,

5:12

you know, it's just, they just

5:17

have a different culture. And

5:17

that's really not acceptable in

5:21

our culture, and if you are not

5:21

what they expect you to be, or

5:24

want you to be the new descend.

5:24

And even though that has them,

5:29

probably more than it has you,

5:29

they, that's just the way it is.

5:33

And that's how it's always been.

5:33

And yeah, that's this, this one

5:38

I want to send to point and that

5:38

that's caused a lot of pain to a

5:45

lot of my friends me and people

5:45

come from ethnic minorities. And

5:49

that's the reason why we go therapy now. I think for me, it's it was a

5:54

lot different due to the fact

5:58

that I was put into care,

5:58

because my family just couldn't

6:04

understand the reasoning behind

6:04

my mental illness. But me coming

6:10

out, it was just the cherry on

6:10

top. And luckily, being placed

6:16

in center point and being placed

6:16

in foster care, I did realize

6:20

that I'm not alone in the

6:20

situation. And I met a lot of

6:23

other people, including my

6:23

partner right now. So, yeah,

6:29

yes. No mention.

6:34

So there's all sounds like, you

6:34

know, really challenging things

6:38

to go through. But just a little

6:38

side note, you said that you met

6:43

UTMs endpoint. Tell me a little

6:43

bit about that.

6:47

Um, well, it was kind of

6:47

unexpected, because I'd seen

6:51

other people get into

6:51

relationships at some point, and

6:54

it never looked like it worked

6:54

out well, but I mean, we both

7:00

knew 1000s Point fairly

7:00

recently. And we're like, still

7:04

together. And yeah, I don't know

7:04

what you want to say about that.

7:10

Well, yeah, she just took one

7:10

look at me, and she just fell

7:14

head over. Yeah. Okay. Um That

7:14

is not true. That was

7:25

I actually was a music teacher

7:25

coming to

7:30

teaching there. I was playing

7:30

guitar and singing and then she

7:34

sat down and started singing

7:34

with me. Then we started hanging

7:37

out. And now we've moved in

7:37

together.

7:43

So sweet shout to Centrepointe.

7:43

Thank you.

7:46

Everyone from Centerpoint is

7:46

invited to the wedding.

7:49

Okay, shout out Centerpoint

7:49

matchmaking service. So, yeah,

7:54

you two men service and being in

7:54

service, and meeting other

8:00

people like Hannah. Yeah. How

8:00

did how did that affect your

8:05

experiences? Was it quite a

8:05

positive? was obviously quite

8:08

positive Fosse. Definitely, it was quite eye

8:10

opening, seeing people of the

8:13

same ethnicities, especially

8:13

having gone through the similar,

8:16

very similar situations. Like I

8:16

said, it really made me feel

8:21

like I wasn't alone. I think the

8:21

one thing I recognized from

8:26

culture and like, I think the

8:26

one thing I realized was that it

8:35

may seem like there's

8:35

unconditional, loving,

8:38

unconditional love comes from

8:38

like your family, until the

8:41

situations of you know, I'm gay,

8:41

or I'm trans, that pops up. And

8:44

it's like, all of a sudden, very

8:44

conditional. So to be in a space

8:51

at some point, where there's

8:51

other young people that are all

8:56

looking for stability, and love

8:56

and just recognition is really

9:02

helps you to thrive and grow as

9:02

a young person who's just trying

9:07

to find their own way. Because

9:07

obviously, you know, especially

9:10

now with the cost of living,

9:10

it's like, that's a whole nother

9:12

added issue. On top of the fact

9:12

of, you know, dealing with maybe

9:16

internalized homophobia, and so

9:16

on.

9:20

I just want to like, say maybe

9:20

like, because what came out for

9:23

me, it was that about

9:23

internalized homophobia, because

9:26

I think that's something that I

9:26

really experienced. And I come

9:30

from, you know, a family where I

9:30

didn't really have any issues

9:35

coming out, it was more just

9:35

like, my own issues, really. So

9:39

I think that you said like that

9:39

on top of everything else, like

9:43

Yeah, like on top of like, cost

9:43

of living and like, having no

9:46

family you know, you see all the

9:46

young people with the support

9:50

group, you know, yeah, basically

9:50

trying to figure out who you

9:54

are. And then yeah, but in terms of Yeah,

9:54

that's what I was gonna say

9:57

like, cuz I think for me Like,

9:57

yeah, I experienced internalized

10:01

homophobia. And that's something

10:01

that I struggled with. And when

10:06

I think about it, having that,

10:06

and then also, you know, having

10:10

a community where it's not

10:10

accepted either, like,

10:13

thankfully, my family were quite

10:13

accepting of it. So I guess

10:18

yeah, having having both like, I

10:18

can't imagine it must have must

10:22

have been really tough. And so

10:22

what was the biggest challenge,

10:27

like to your to your coming out

10:27

stories?

10:32

Initially, it was obviously, the

10:32

internalized homophobia and the

10:36

denial. And then you start

10:36

hating yourself and then coming

10:41

out, you know, what's gonna

10:41

happen, because it happens to

10:45

everyone around you is like,

10:45

ethnic minority, and as LGBTQ,

10:50

we're gonna get kicked out,

10:50

disowned if you're not in a good

10:54

place, maybe even killed. But I

10:54

guess if there's anything good

10:59

that came out of is that this

10:59

we're living our truth, and

11:04

we're gonna break that cycle of

11:04

abuse. So we're gonna be the

11:07

change. If we have kids, they

11:07

will never face any issues of

11:11

acceptance. So are emotional

11:11

abuse or any of the that we've

11:15

gotten? So it's breaking the

11:15

cycle? We know we're going to

11:18

make the world a little bit

11:18

better in the future. This

11:24

better than it was, yeah, I love that. Thank you for

11:25

sharing that. I think. Yeah,

11:28

breaking the cycle is a great

11:28

wherever CNA and Mia, what about

11:32

you? I think the hardest challenge

11:33

was obviously using my siblings

11:41

and like, you know, not being

11:41

able to see them anymore. Also,

11:47

feeling like I couldn't tell

11:47

everyone, I Oh, like, you know,

11:50

sometimes I think I also like

11:50

hid it from certain people,

11:54

because I don't know if they

11:54

were like an ally. So it felt

11:57

like I was still like, hiding

11:57

things. And not really living my

12:02

true authentic self. I think

12:02

also judgment from my own

12:09

community, especially coming

12:09

from a really religious

12:13

community. I mean, it's already

12:13

a lot. Having to not cover

12:19

myself up in public. On top of

12:19

that, even like, just being with

12:23

Hannah, it's like really hard.

12:23

Because as much as people like

12:26

to say that, London is an idea

12:26

agree it can be it is quite

12:31

like, a safe space for LGBT

12:31

people, it still doesn't feel

12:34

that way. Because I can't hold

12:34

hands with her in certain areas,

12:39

or we can't, you know, kiss in

12:39

certain areas. And I think that

12:44

that's a really hard struggle. Yeah, definitely. And Maya, what

12:48

about you?

12:53

Um, yeah, thank you for sharing

12:53

that. That's really nice to

12:57

hear, but also really difficult.

12:57

So I think like, a lot of the

13:03

time, a lot of people use the

13:03

word like, there's a cultural

13:07

cultural barrier. And I always,

13:07

I never know whether that's a

13:10

good thing, that's a good thing

13:10

to say or not good thing to say.

13:13

Because you don't the idea of a

13:13

barrier, something that stops

13:16

you that I realized, like,

13:16

again, with the work that I do

13:20

with the the project that keep

13:20

on the project, that a lot of

13:23

people managed to, they build a

13:23

new relationship with their

13:28

religion, or with their culture,

13:28

whilst also being gay or being

13:31

bisexual being trans. And that's

13:31

something that's just really

13:35

lovely to see. And I think, in

13:35

London, because there's such a

13:39

high rate of queer people,

13:39

especially queer people from

13:42

different backgrounds. It's kind

13:42

of like this new generation,

13:45

this new wave of culture and

13:45

religion that I don't think

13:50

maybe it doesn't sit right with

13:50

older generations, but it's

13:53

definitely it's kind of like

13:53

finding a way that works for

13:56

you. But yeah, just from like

13:56

what you said, I just, I wanted

14:00

to ask you, like, Do you Do you

14:00

feel as though like, you've

14:03

developed a new kind of

14:03

relationship with your cultural

14:05

identity now that you're kind of

14:05

more comfortable in your sexual

14:08

identity? Oh, definitely. I think it

14:09

opened up space for me to

14:12

actually dive deep into my,

14:12

like, culture and like, because

14:17

I feel like a lot of it growing

14:17

up was just heavily based on it

14:21

was more of a religion of a

14:21

culture. So I got the chance to

14:25

like really do my research on

14:25

you know, where I've come from

14:28

what how my ancestors were, and

14:28

I think I also developed a

14:33

better relationship in terms of

14:33

my spirituality, because I think

14:36

I went through a lot of

14:36

hardships with like, trying to

14:41

set where I stood with religion.

14:41

So that's like, still a journey

14:46

for me. But I think once I

14:46

accepted my sexuality, it

14:52

definitely opened doors for me

14:52

to set other parts of myself.

14:56

And I like what you said how

14:56

this like, you know, a new

14:58

generation of like, queer people

14:58

that like, opening up different

15:03

conversations and that aspects.

15:03

It's really beautiful to see.

15:08

Yeah, I mean, I was just gonna

15:08

say as well, I feel like the

15:13

reason why like the queer

15:13

community is so like,

15:16

groundbreaking and it's so it

15:16

really kind of disrupts society

15:21

is because especially within

15:21

cultural groups and communities,

15:25

for 1000s of years, like society

15:25

is functional in one way. And

15:29

then, you know, when you have

15:29

two men fall in love, two women

15:33

fall in love, and it doesn't

15:33

mean it goes against that, you

15:36

start to see the cracks show in

15:36

terms of you see what really is

15:40

important, like reputation is

15:40

important. That way my family

15:43

looks to other families in that

15:43

same religion and same culture

15:46

that, you know, that's

15:46

embarrassing, or X, Y, and Zed,

15:50

and then it kind of boils down

15:50

to, again, you know, you've got

15:53

the same love is love. Because

15:53

essentially, love is what makes

15:57

the world go round, whether

15:57

that's, you know, you as a woman

15:59

falling in love with a woman,

15:59

you realize, and actually, you

16:03

know, I'm in the wrong body. I

16:03

think it's, it's just like this

16:08

idea of disruption. And I think,

16:08

again, that's got negative

16:12

connotations associated to it.

16:12

But really like, it does boil

16:17

down to when you make these like

16:17

really bold choices to kind of

16:20

remove yourself from family,

16:20

remove yourself to pro financial

16:24

ties and emotional ties, and

16:24

it's such a huge thing to do.

16:28

Especially in a country, which

16:28

is not majority, what your

16:32

family are. It's just like, such

16:32

a bold and brave thing to do

16:38

off the back of that, like, do

16:38

you think it is kind of almost a

16:41

cycle of like, rather than it

16:41

just being like, all one

16:45

community thinking one thing? Do

16:45

you think it is like a cycle of

16:49

like worrying about what someone

16:49

else in the community thinks?

16:52

It's, like you said about having

16:52

to like, cut yourself off from?

16:56

Yeah, I pies. I think like the other

16:57

issue that, like the to do with

17:01

what you've decided that the

17:01

other issue is that, I think,

17:04

because we live in a western

17:04

society, I think people, I mean,

17:08

often I hear the phrase thrown

17:08

around, like, Oh, like that

17:11

community's not quite there yet.

17:11

They're not quite accepted yet.

17:14

But like, again, like not to be

17:14

that person that throws the word

17:17

colonization around. But, you

17:17

know, like queer people have

17:20

existed forever. And that's

17:20

like, such an important thing to

17:23

remember. Because I think, you

17:23

know, people think that we're

17:26

further back in time, we're not

17:26

quite there yet. But really,

17:29

when you've got all the kind of

17:29

like cultural stipulations

17:32

attached to you, you've got so

17:32

many obstacles to overcome to

17:36

then allow yourself to be happy.

17:36

And then you do you are kind of

17:39

left in that situation, which is

17:39

what you guys have done, where

17:42

you kind of throw your hands up

17:42

and say, well, actually, this is

17:45

too much. I just got to remove

17:45

myself completely. And then

17:49

slowly, like build my way back

17:49

to it. If

17:51

you look at history, there have

17:51

been like so many countries

17:54

that, you know, pre colonization

17:54

were very open in terms of like

17:58

what we would see now as

17:58

queerness. But that's completely

18:02

been stripped away. Yeah, thank you small, small

18:03

culture, even most of them

18:07

religion, my opinion that kind

18:07

of holds our families back and

18:12

and being accepting. Um, it's

18:12

just the fear of other people

18:16

judging them and just wanting to

18:16

be accepted.

18:21

Yeah, no, I think those are all

18:21

really interesting points. And

18:24

then, yeah, I guess if it is,

18:24

like you said, like, even pre

18:28

colonization, things were a lot

18:28

different. That's still like

18:32

years and years of learning to

18:32

get to like, where we are now?

18:36

What what do you kind of think

18:36

would help now to just like,

18:40

encourage more respect and

18:40

understanding within, within,

18:43

like, all communities, really, I

18:43

mean, you can talk from the

18:47

position of your own community,

18:47

or just all communities as a

18:50

whole. I feel like, I feel like it

18:52

really just boils down to seeing

18:56

one another as our own

18:56

individual person. And just, you

19:03

know, like I said before, with,

19:03

like, unconditional love until

19:07

it becomes a conditional. I

19:07

think just, if we all just kept

19:13

things very simple. I'll say maybe exposure until it

19:15

becomes a norm, and then they

19:21

just get used to the experience, and then they

19:26

get angry. And I think it's just like, it's just

19:29

a way of

19:31

thinking, yeah, it's just, it's

19:31

just a way of thinking.

19:35

And it's also like, I mean, not

19:35

just from like, people from

19:39

ethnic minority backgrounds, but

19:39

like, even like the current, the

19:41

current sort of situation. The

19:41

way politics is moving at the

19:45

moment. You know, people like

19:45

are very quick to like point

19:48

fingers and say, oh, you know,

19:48

the snowflakes or like the young

19:51

people, but like, if you really

19:51

think about the agenda we're

19:54

pushing, it's actually just

19:54

coming from a place of

19:56

acceptance and love. So I don't

19:56

actually think that there is

20:00

just like a one fix one quick

20:00

fix for people who, for 1000s of

20:05

years have thought one way,

20:05

like, it's going to be

20:07

difficult, it's going to be hard

20:07

to change your mind.

20:10

And to have to wait until the

20:10

next generation comes. And then

20:12

the next generation until it was

20:12

accepting.

20:16

And I think it also just boils

20:16

down to like, do you as a

20:18

parent? Do you not want your

20:18

child to be happy? I think

20:21

that's the bottom line, or as a

20:21

friend or as any, any person

20:25

who's who you love who is queer?

20:25

Like, do you not want them to be

20:30

happy? Because that is the

20:30

bottom line, you don't you got

20:32

this life? You will, I would

20:32

want you to be happy. And

20:36

presumably, my parents would, too. So

20:38

yeah. The thing is, like, the we're

20:40

not hurting anyone, we're not

20:43

doing anything wrong to you

20:43

know, to affect anyone else in a

20:47

negative way. Which is so

20:47

baffling why they wouldn't

20:50

accept something that's

20:50

completely benign. And, and it's

20:55

just, it's just love. You know,

20:58

I think also just like, if

20:58

things were more communion, I

21:03

feel like, you know, how things

21:03

have been set up with, like, you

21:07

know, nuclear families,

21:07

everything be kept at home,

21:11

people wanting their family to

21:11

look a certain way, and not

21:15

wanting to bring shame on their

21:15

family. I think if everything

21:18

was just more open and more more

21:18

communal, these conversations

21:21

could be much more easier to

21:21

digest. Because, you know,

21:26

there's other families that also

21:26

are coming to terms with the

21:30

fact that the child might be

21:30

LGBTQ. So I think this whole

21:34

shame and fear mongering, and

21:34

all of that is just just needs

21:38

to go. Yeah, I think so too. Yes, it's, it's

21:41

not going to be like an easy

21:45

fix. And it's going to take

21:45

time, and there's a lot

21:48

unfortunately, gonna be a lot of

21:48

like casualties along the way.

21:52

And I think that's kind of what

21:52

happens now. And but I think,

21:57

you know, what, one of you You

21:57

too said earlier, just about,

22:01

like breaking the cycle and like

22:01

my, you're saying about, like,

22:04

you know, your parents been

22:04

happy for you, and then you

22:07

would be happy for like your

22:07

children. And then kind of like

22:10

is, I guess it is like about

22:10

creating like a new cycle. A

22:14

question to you all, then what

22:14

advice would you give to other

22:17

young people who have found

22:17

themselves homeless because of

22:20

their sexuality? Hannah, do you

22:20

want to start

22:24

I know, scary. I know, feels

22:24

like the end of the world, just

22:28

just how we felt. In the

22:28

beginning. I know, you just

22:31

don't want to keep going. But in

22:31

the end, it's gonna be okay, as

22:37

long as just try to get up every

22:37

day, just try to keep going with

22:42

life. Even if you get up, just

22:42

eat one meal a day. And then day

22:47

after day, we'll just get over

22:47

it slowly, you just start

22:50

believing in yourself again. And

22:50

you start working on yourself

22:53

again, and you realize that

22:53

assistance or part of your

22:57

journey, and eventually down the

22:57

line, you'll realize that all of

23:01

that was for a reason whether

23:01

you believe that or not. And all

23:04

of that has shaped you and has

23:04

made you the strong person you

23:07

are. And you wouldn't be as kind

23:07

or as strong or as as you know,

23:14

patient or as helpful as you

23:14

would be now if it weren't for

23:19

the challenges that you've been

23:19

through. And that's how I

23:22

genuinely feel. Yeah,

23:25

thank you for saying that. And

23:25

yeah, Mia, what would you say?

23:33

I would say go you know, social

23:33

up online, go look on Instagram

23:40

on tick tock, try find

23:40

communities of like, other young

23:43

people are like charities that

23:43

are giving either like therapy

23:48

or like just, you know, spaces

23:48

where you can feel accepted and

23:52

not feel like you have to be

23:52

afraid and, you know, look into

23:57

the things that you really have

23:57

enjoyed a wants to do but

24:00

couldn't do until now and go for

24:00

it. Like, you know, Journal.

24:08

Make new friends can even change

24:08

your name if you want to, is you

24:14

know, you can restart

24:14

everything. But also just

24:19

remember to you know, appreciate

24:19

solitude and really dive deep

24:23

into yourself. So you don't have

24:23

to carry all of this with you.

24:26

And yeah, just know that it will

24:26

be okay in the end.

24:29

And my of what, what advice

24:29

would you give to like young

24:34

people, I guess the ones that

24:34

are coming to Stonewall housing

24:38

center point for charities like

24:38

that.

24:40

I think the most important thing

24:40

to remember again, I'm not

24:44

speaking from my own

24:44

experiences, but from the people

24:46

I've seen in these situations,

24:46

is you have to remember that you

24:50

are not an extension of your

24:50

family. And you are not an

24:53

extension of anybody but

24:53

yourself. So I think a lot of

24:57

people they stay in Scituate

24:57

domestic abuse, relationships,

25:01

domestic abuse or just abuse in

25:01

general, because, you know, it's

25:05

family or its friends. And

25:05

that's, you know, I have to make

25:10

an exception for that. But no,

25:10

that's not the case. You know,

25:14

life is precious, and it's

25:14

short. And, you know, it's so

25:18

important to be happy and really

25:18

ask yourself, Am I happy? And

25:22

could I be happier? And if that

25:22

is a question of kind of

25:25

completely uprooting your life,

25:25

and starting from scratch,

25:29

whether you're 15, whether

25:29

you're 25, whether you're 60,

25:33

it's never too late, and you

25:33

really do have to take the

25:35

opportunity. And also that,

25:35

whilst you know, it might not

25:40

feel particularly positive in

25:40

the current political climate,

25:44

you know, there is always like,

25:44

everyone who you see again, on

25:48

Instagram on Tik Tok, whatever,

25:48

they all started from somewhere.

25:52

They all got to be where they

25:52

are, and have their voices heard

25:56

from, you know, just from

25:56

working from the ground up. So

25:59

that could be you. Yeah, that's

25:59

what I wanted to say. The Kpop

26:03

project is, it's about the QP

26:03

OC, queer people of color

26:08

project. We are an organization,

26:08

we run all kinds of events, from

26:14

social to educational, and we

26:14

are a safe space for anybody who

26:19

identifies under that umbrella.

26:19

So yeah, find us anywhere on

26:23

Instagram on online, please do

26:23

come along to our next event.

26:28

Yeah, so thanks, a massive

26:28

thanks to everyone for coming

26:32

along today. Thank you, Maya,

26:32

Mia, and Hannah. We really

26:38

appreciate you sharing your

26:38

experiences and all of your

26:40

stories. And given a very young

26:40

people advice, who's going

26:45

through similar situations. It's

26:45

been a really inspiring and

26:49

insightful discussion. And when

26:49

this raise a lot of questions to

26:54

so big thanks also to our

26:54

listeners, please continue to

26:57

support this podcast and like,

26:57

subscribe and share. Thank you.

27:02

Thank you. Hi, Daisy,

27:04

thank you for giving us the

27:04

space to be able to record this

27:08

podcast today. I'm just going to

27:08

ask you a few questions. That's

27:11

okay. Can you tell us a bit

27:11

about the history of cat

27:15

footwear? Yes, so cat footwear is a

27:16

division of Caterpillar Inc. we

27:22

originated in the early 1990s,

27:22

expanding the brand into durable

27:28

and reliable footwear. So we're

27:28

known mainly for our work boots.

27:33

But we also now offer a wide

27:33

range of casual and lifestyle

27:37

footwear. For men, women, and

27:37

unisex. All of our products are

27:42

infused of cat DNA, and our

27:42

innovative products really

27:47

reflect the ruggedness and

27:47

authenticity, making our shoes

27:51

suitable for both work outdoor,

27:51

and everyday leisure.

27:55

Amazing. And why did you want to

27:55

partner with centerpoint? Why

27:59

did cat footwear want to partner with them? Yes. So youth homelessness is

28:01

not just a UK issue. It's a

28:06

global issue. And as a brand, we

28:06

really wanted to aim to raise

28:11

awareness and to take action to

28:11

address this pressing problem.

28:17

And there as there is a vast

28:17

amount of homelessness between

28:20

16 to 24 year olds, the high

28:20

cost of living the whole

28:24

situation with the economy. And

28:24

we really believe this shouldn't

28:28

be happening in the 21st

28:28

century. So together, we all can

28:32

make a difference in the world. Thank you. And what happened

28:34

some of the highlights of the

28:37

partnership so far. So participating in the

28:39

centerpoint awards, in November

28:44

2021 was really humbling

28:44

experience for us. So I actually

28:49

presented an award to a young

28:49

adult who transformed his life.

28:54

And it was really, truly

28:54

inspirational to listen to his

28:57

story, as well as all of the

28:57

young adults that got presented

29:01

an award as well as listening to

29:01

their journeys.

29:06

And do you have a message for

29:06

the young people supported by

29:09

centerpoint? Yes, so really, from personal

29:10

experience, I can share the

29:14

importance of not giving up.

29:14

Life can be really challenging

29:18

in various ways sometimes, and

29:18

it might feel easier to abandon

29:22

our aspirations. However, the

29:22

true reward really lies in the

29:27

success of achieving something

29:27

despite obstacles. So the

29:31

struggles we face on the journey

29:31

will be remembered, but they

29:34

will ultimately make the

29:34

achievement more meaningful and

29:37

shape who we are today. Thank

29:37

you