At Just Like Us, we know how important it is for young people to feel like they belong. Being safe and supported, at home and at school, improves their mental health, relationships, educational attainment and hope for the future.

Sadly, for LGBT+ young people, that support isn’t always there. We’re working to change that, but this Christmas, we need your help.

In 2025, Just Like Us worked harder than ever to create inclusive environments at home and at school for LGBT+ young people:

- We made our School Talks programme free to all UK secondary schools, allowing more young people to have access to positive LGBT+ role models

- We released our LGBT+ Guide for Parents and Carers to promote positive conversations at home

- We reached our largest network of ambassadors to date, with 498 LGBT+ young people aged 18 to 25 trained to deliver school talks across the UK

- 57,932 pupils across the UK saw a Just Like Us talk in their school

- We continued to produce LGBT+ inclusive resources showing all pupils, from Early Years to Sixth Form, that difference should be celebrated

But this work comes at a cost. We need your support to ensure we can keep our programmes free, so that inclusion and belonging reaches every school and every home.

We know growing up LGBT+ can already be difficult, but the festive season can bring its own challenges. For many LGBT+ young people, this time of year is a mix of joy and uncertainty; it can be a time of warmth and connection, but it can also mean difficult conversations or strained relationships.

This Christmas season, please give what you can to ensure every child receives the gift of belonging.

Speaking in support of Just Like Us’ school talks, Wicked star and Just Like Us patron Jonathan Bailey described how the charity builds community and fosters a sense of belonging.

He said: "These young ambassadors that Just Like Us work with, who have had that experience in school, they are trained to go in and hold these sessions and it builds community. That’s something that we really need to be mindful of, because our community is being pulled at the sinews at the moment".

"More than ever, get behind Just Like Us and watch your kids thrive, all of them, because it creates a more inclusive and safe place for every single child".

He added: “You want every child to have the best possibility at school of having empathy and understanding, it increases their emotional intelligence. But for the queer kids themselves, it is a matter of life and death.”

We know that for LGBT+ young people to have the best chance at a happy and successful future, support is needed at home as well as at school.

A recent study found that 78% of primary pupils have heard homophobic language. Yet a third of British parents have never spoken to their child about what LGBT+ means.

Just Like Us’ LGBT+ Guide for Parents and Carers is a free, comprehensive resource to ensure all families can have positive conversations at home about LGBT+ topics, whether or not their child is LGBT+.

“This is the guide I wish had existed when I came out to my mum” -- A Just Like Us Ambassador

Help us support as many families as possible, and make sure all young people can receive the gift of belonging this Christmas.