A three-part drama which follows the arrest and trial of serial killer Dennis Nilsen, known as Des.
Stonewall Housing providing guidance and support for viewers when the 3-part drama airs on ITV in September 2020.
Stonewall Housing was established in 1983 and is the only charity in the UK working with Homeless LGBTQ+ people of all ages. They provide supported accommodation for LGBTQ+ people who have nowhere else to turn to and are proud to provide the UK’s only Trans and Non-Binary specific supported housing scheme.
Dennis Nilsen, commonly known as ‘Des’ was one of the UK’s most infamous serial killers in UK history. Referred to as the ‘kindly killer’, Nilsen was a civil servant who spent five years murdering boys and young men he met on the streets of London from 1978 to 1983. He would meet and befriend these men before offering them food or lodgings for the evening back at his North London flat. His victims were often homeless or living off-grid, having slipped through the cracks of 1980s society and were therefore welcoming of this stranger’s apparent generosity. When he was finally caught on 9 February 1983, Nilsen had murdered as many as fifteen men over a period of five years, making him Britain’s most prolific serial killer of the time.
Each year Stonewall Housing supports over 1200 LGBTQ+ people who have been made homeless due to their identity to access safe accommodation. Often younger generations of the LGBTQ+ homeless community seek refuge, kindness and support, often with strangers either they meet in bars, and now online.
Finding a meal or a bed for the night is often transactional and many young people feel like they have no options, it’s either sleep on the streets or rely on the kindness of strangers.
Stonewall Housing was set up in 1983 to provide an alternative option, helping LGBTQ+ people find a safe home, and despite significant changes in legislation they continue to see cases like this every day, people as young as 16 years old with nowhere to go and no-one to turn to.
Steven McIntyre, Chief Executive of Stonewall Housing, said:
“We were delighted to partner with New Pictures to highlight the issues LGBTQ+ people face when they have nowhere safe to live. We want to ensure that viewers understand the issues that affect young people coming out and how, even now in 2020, one of the biggest risks is that they become homeless. You can help by making sure your loved ones know that you accept them, all of them, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation. Acceptance, celebration and unconditional love really does save lives.”
Fighting to end LGBT+ homelessness, Stonewall Housing aim to make sure everyone has a safe and secure home. They do this by delivering specialist housing, advice and advocacy to over 1200 people every year, including those who need support with their mental health and those fleeing domestic abuse.
If you would like to support Stonewall Housing to end LGBT+ Homelessness please visit www.stonewallhousing.org/donate
Here’s how you can support Stonewall Housing:
· To become a regular donor or give a one off gift/donation visit ////www.stonewallhousing.org/donate.
· To leave a gift in your will visit ////www.stonewallhousing.org/overthrainbow
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Press Contact – info@stonewallhousing.org
Stonewall Housing is the UK’s oldest LGBT+ specific housing support and advice service and the only organisation that offers support to all ages. Stonewall Housing was established in 1983 and has helped thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) people to find safe and secure homes. It also provides consultancy, training and advice to individuals and providers within the housing sector.
They help over 1200 LGBT+ people a year access safer homes and spaces. They have 51 bed spaces (including a Trans only scheme) for people who have been made homeless directly as a result of their gender identity or sexuality.
The House of Stonewall is a collaboration between Stonewall Housing service users, alumni, staff our supporters, corporate partners and high profile individuals all determined to promote Stonewall Housing and raise funds for the organisation.
The House of Stonewall are trained in public speaking and community action so they can represent the issues of their community to key agencies, housing providers and political decision makers.
We want our community’s voices to be heard, to help them create and provide platforms to pave the way forward for future generations.
You can make a donation to Stonewall Housing at ////www.stonewallhousing.org/donate
For more information on joining the House of Stonewall contact us on fundraising@stonewallhousing.org
Des is produced by New Pictures, one of the leading television production companies in the UK. They have produced two seasons of the critically acclaimed THE MISSING for BBC One & Starz, and two series of INDIAN SUMMERS for Channel 4 & WGBH. More recent productions have included RELLIK, a crime thriller for BBC One & Cinemax, REQUIEM, a supernatural thriller for BBC One & Netflix, THE INNOCENTS, a shape-shifting love story for Netflix Originals, CATHERINE THE GREAT, a sweeping historical epic based on the life of Catherine II, Empress of Russia and starring Helen Mirren and Jason Clarke for Sky & HBO, COBRA, a political drama for Sky and WHITE HOUSE FARM a true crime drama for ITV.