Accent Housing has been awarded Pledge Pioneer status through the LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge, recognising its commitment to ensuring LGBTQ+ customers feel heard, respected, supported and represented in the communities they call home.
The LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge, developed by HouseProud and delivered by Stonewall Housing, is a sector-wide accreditation scheme that supports social housing providers to improve the experiences of LGBTQ+ residents and customers. To achieve Pioneer status, housing providers must demonstrate practical action across three key areas: involving LGBTQ+ residents in decision-making, increasing LGBTQ+ visibility and providing relevant staff training.
The accreditation recognises the work Accent has undertaken to strengthen equity, diversity and inclusion across its services while ensuring customers remain at the centre of its decision-making. The award reflects Accent's ongoing commitment to listening to diverse customer voices, creating welcoming communities and continually improving services based on feedback and lived experiences.
Accent provided evidence based on customer groups, bespoke internal talks (including trans awareness, raising LGBT children), dedicated learning, dedicated information hubs and customer profiling.
Jo Gallagher, Head of Customer & Community Engagement at Accent, said: "We're incredibly proud to have achieved Pledge Pioneer status. This recognition reflects the work we've been doing to ensure LGBTQ+ customers feel safe, respected and represented within our communities.
"For us, this is about much more than achieving an accreditation. It's about taking meaningful action, listening to the experiences of LGBTQ+ residents and using what we hear to influence the way we design and deliver services.
"While we're pleased to have reached this important milestone, we recognise that inclusion is an ongoing journey. We remain committed to learning, improving and working alongside customers to ensure everyone feels they belong and can thrive in their home and community."
Matt Beetar, People Project Manager and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead at Accent Housing, said: "Achieving Pledge Pioneer status is a fantastic recognition of the commitment colleagues and customers have shown in helping us create a more inclusive organisation.
"The accreditation acknowledges the practical steps we've taken to increase LGBTQ+ visibility, improve understanding through learning and development, and strengthen how we listen to and act on customer feedback. From dedicated awareness sessions and information resources to ensuring LGBTQ+ voices are represented in conversations about our services, we've worked hard to build strong foundations for lasting change."
The accreditation builds on Accent's wider commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion. Over recent years, the organisation has continued to strengthen opportunities for customers to influence decision-making, increase awareness of underrepresented communities and embed inclusive practices across the organisation.
As a national housing association providing more than 21,000 homes and services to over 40,000 customers across England, Accent believes everyone deserves a safe, sustainable and affordable home where they can be themselves and feel part of their community.
Achieving Pledge Pioneer status marks an important step in Accent's inclusion journey and provides a strong foundation for further work with customers as the organisation continues to build communities where everyone feels welcome, valued and supported.
