A HOMELESS charity based in the borough has opened a refuge for the capital’s LGBTIQ+ community in response to the coronavirus crisis.

The Outside Project’s new Star Refuge was opened last week. It takes its name from a 1970s New York refuge founded by a group who fought to provide shelter and food to homeless LGBT+ youths in the city.

The new refuge will provide beds at a protected location in the capital for LGBT+ people facing domestic violence as a result of their living situation during the coronavirus crisis.

The refuge is a collaboration between the Outside Project, Stonewall Housing, Galop, Hestla and the Mayor of London’s Office for Police and Crime.

Recent figures showed there were just 77 LGBTQI+ specific bed spaces in London, despite more than half a million identifying as members of these communities in the capital.

A spokesperson for the Clerkenwell-based Outside Project said the refuge was something that had been needed for a long time.

They said: “The issues can be quite unique around familial rejection. That’s one of the biggest forms of abuse towards young people in our community; domestic violence from their parents when they come out. The Outside Project has always been aware of this issue and Covid-19 has just amplified it.”

It is hoped the refuge will be able to remain open once the coronavirus crisis has passed.

Outside Project founder Carla Ecola said: “As much as we are grateful for the support, the coronavirus just magnified the fact that these services were missing already.

“We should have had emergency accomm­oda­tion, our own outreach worker and a domestic violence and abuse refuge already. All of these things we’ve thankfully been able to put in place over the last few months is stuff we should have had already.”