Just Like Us:
The LGBT+ young people's charity
Our mission is to empower
young people to champion
LGBT+ equality.
About us
Just Like Us is the LGBT+ young people's charity. We were founded five years ago for a simple reason: growing up LGBT+ is still unacceptably tough.
Our mission is to empower young people to champion LGBT+ equality. We want all young people to know that being LGBT+ is something to be celebrated.
LGBT+ young people still face unacceptable levels of lesbophobia, homophobia, biphobia and transphobia – 85% still regularly hear homophobic remarks (Prescient for Just Like Us, 2019). LGBT+ young people are also more than twice as likely to be worrying daily about their mental health and one in four is currently experiencing daily tensions in the place they are living (Just Like Us, 2021). LGBT+ young people who are Black, disabled and/or eligible for free school meals face even more challenges.
These experiences can have a life-long negative impact and, while young people are struggling, their teachers and peers are rarely equipped with the information they need to support them. Almost half of secondary school pupils say they have had little to zero positive messaging about being LGBT+ in the last year (Just Like Us, 2021).
To change this, we run three programmes across the UK:
The Ambassador Programme
We partner with employers to train LGBT+ volunteers to further our mission. Our ambassadors are aged 18–25 and take part in a wide range of activities from school and workplace talks, creating content, writing about their experiences, to fundraising and running campaigns.
Pride Groups
Our Pride Groups programme trains educators and school staff to support pupils in establishing and running Pride Groups. These are student-led and create a safe, welcoming space for LGBT+ pupils and allies to talk about LGBT+ topics, socialise and find community. Pride Groups are an integral part of our work in making education more inclusive and the programme runs all year round – including
School Diversity Week
Our annual initiative, School Diversity Week, empowers school staff and pupils across the UK to tackle homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic bullying by organising activities that celebrate LGBT+ equality in education. In 2020, schools and colleges representing 1.9 million young people signed up to take part in School Diversity Week, demonstrating to their pupils that being LGBT+ is something to be celebrated.
The next School Diversity Week is taking place from 21 to 25 June, 2021. Join thousands of primary schools, secondary schools and colleges across the UK by signing up now – it's free and you'll receive a toolkit packed with resources for across the curriculum and for all Key Stages.
We're proud to consult with the NSPCC on all our procedures around working with young people.
Support Just Like Us
If you would like to support our work as an individual, group or employee network, please visit our donation page where you can find more information and inspiration for fundraising. You can find more about our corporate partnerships here. Thank you for your support.
If you work in a school or college, please sign up for School Diversity Week or talk to us about how we can help you support your pupils.
Have a question? Contact us.
Who we serve
Young people
We provide LGBT+ volunteers aged 18–25 with the skills they need to be role models in schools and colleges, and future leaders in the workplace
Schools and colleges
We help schools and colleges to tackle anti-LGBT+ bullying, meet Ofsted's Inspectorate Framework