For the second year, charity the Outside Project are joining forces with the Castlehaven Community Centre in Camden Town to provide a safe space for the homeless LGBTQIA+ charity in north London.
'Outsidermas', will be a sober space open to those in need from 11am until 8pm on Christmas Day. Those attending will find a Christmas lunch and entertainment.
Pear and Jamie, the organisers of the weekly Outside In LGBTQIA+ community hub at the Castlehaven centre explained. They said: "It's important to hold a queer sober space that prioritizes solidarity and mutual support, especially at this time of year. Christmas at the Black Cap was always so special (though not very sober!) to our community and there was a gap there until last year's Outsidermas."
Carla Ecola - director of the Outside Project, said: "Many of the guests who have stayed with us at the shelter since our opening last Christmas eve would've been facing Christmas alone following family rejection, domestic abuse, or displacement through seeking asylum."
She explained the centre had become a "second home" to the charity over the past year - which has seen the Outside In sessions run each Monday in collaboration with the Black Cap Foundation. The sessions over entertainment, activities, hot food and sexual health testing to attendees - and everything is free.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here