Deliveroo funds free meals for homeless LGBTQs through ‘Ask for Dorothy’ campaign
The trial begins this Pride Month across 10 restaurant sites in London, Brighton, and Bristol.
Deliveroo, its restaurant partners and LGBTQ+ youth homelessness charity Albert Kennedy Trust (akt) have joined forces to provide free meals to members of the LGBTQ+ community who find themselves in a homeless or vulnerable situation when it comes to affording food or shelter.
The trial begins this Pride Month across 10 restaurant sites in London, Brighton, and Bristol.
When a member of the community experiencing homelessness says “I’m a friend of Dorothy” or even just “Dorothy”, before ordering, it will unlock a free main meal as well as additional resources on how they can receive help.
Five LGBTQ+ owned restaurants including The Athenian, Club Mexicana, Smashing Plates, Tonkotsu, and Bleecker Burger are the first to sign up to the initiative which is being funded by Deliveroo and aims to support the rising numbers of LGBTQ+ homeless people in the UK.
The ‘Friend of Dorothy’ campaign follows new data from the akt, revealing referrals have increased by 58% within the last three years.
Previously, data from 2021 by akt revealed that 24% of homeless people identify as LGBTQ+ with 77% believing coming out to their parents was the main factor for their homelessness.
In addition to a meal, information on how people can receive assistance via the akt charity will be provided discreetly. Deliveroo and restaurants taking part will also encourage other customers to play an active part and make donations to akt through in-restaurant posters, window stickers and QR codes.
“Deliveroo is proud of its allyship with the LGBTQ+ community”
Tim Spoor, CEO of akt told Attitude: “As the UK’s national LGBTQ+ youth homelessness charity, we know how much this initiative will help people in the community who are experiencing housing insecurity to feel seen and supported.
“We welcome Deliveroo’s ‘Friend of Dorothy’ initiative and the positive impact it will have on those facing homelessness in the community, and the awareness it will help build of this growing issue. We encourage any LGBTQ+ people at risk of or experiencing homelessness to redeem their free main meal on behalf of Deliveroo, and also receive information about akt and further support if needed from one of the participating restaurants involved.”
Lea Duchemin (she/her), Co-Lead of Deliveroo’s LGBTQ+ Network, Deloveroo also told Attitude: “Deliveroo is proud of its allyship with the LGBTQ+ community all year round, so it was important to us that we launch an initiative focused on one of the pressing issues that the community is facing – homelessness. Working alongside akt and our network of LGBTQ+–owned restaurant partners, this initiative is designed to help community members experiencing homelessness by providing access to free food in a safe space, no questions asked.”