Our impact
How we're changing the lives of LGBTQI refugees and people seeking asylum
safe bed nights provided by Micro Rainbow every year
Micro Rainbow safe houses for LGBTQI asylum seekers across the UK
Countries around the world criminalise homosexuality
We help LGBTQI people fleeing persecution rebuild their lives in safety and dignity in the UK.
Advocacy
Micro Rainbow’s dedicated outreach team supports LGBTQI people seeking asylum by advocating for their rights and needs, including access to healthcare, safe housing, and legal aid. Outreach Officers not only provide advice and practical support, but also work to empower beneficiaries to access services independently.
In 2025, Micro Rainbow’s eight Outreach Officers, six based in England and two in Wales, provided intensive one-to-one casework support to 819 LGBTQI people fleeing persecution. In addition, Micro Rainbow employs a dedicated LBTQI Women’s Officer to meet the specific needs of LBTQI women seeking asylum. 2025 was another record year for Micro Rainbow in terms of the number of people supported.
819
LGBTQI people seeking asylum supported with intensive, one-to-one casework
1
LBTQI women’s officer to meet the specific needs of LBTQI women seeking asylum
8
Outreach Officers employed by Micro Rainbow, six in England and two in Wales
Safe housing
At Micro Rainbow, providing safe housing for LGBTQI asylum seekers is central to our mission. Through the Safe Housing programme, we aim to combat homelessness and reduce the violence and harassment that LGBTQI migrants often face in housing situations.
"Micro Rainbow gave me more than just a place to live. They gave me physical safety, mental support, and most importantly – hope. I expected good housing, but what I received was so much more: warmth, respect, and a community that understood my journey."
We achieve this by directly offering housing and collaborating with hosting schemes when we reach full capacity. In 2025, we proudly expanded our efforts by opening five additional safe houses and moved into two brand new areas of the UK.
The five additional houses increased our housing capacity by 17%, enabling Micro Rainbow to provide over 41,975 safe bed nights annually. This expansion allows us to support even more vulnerable LGBTQI asylum seekers with inclusive, safe, and welcoming housing.
30
safe houses for LGBTQI people seeking asylum, with 5 new ones opened in 2025
41,975
safe bed nights in 2025 – our capacity increased by 17%
86%
felt an increased sense of safety as a result of engaging with our Safe Housing programme
Social inclusion
While providing safe housing for LGBTQI asylum seekers is essential, it is only one part of their integration journey. Through the Social Inclusion programme, Micro Rainbow promotes social justice and fosters a sense of belonging, confidence, and self-esteem among LGBTQI asylum seekers and refugees.
Over 2025, Micro Rainbow delivered 125 events, incorporating a wide range of activities. Our community of LGBTQI refugees and asylum seekers were able to attend theatre trips, visits to museums and farms, and early in 2025, the Sista Sista group attended the Women’s March.
"I felt supported, inspired and proud to be part of such a strong and passionate community."
In response to the marked increase in hostility towards refugees and people seeking asylum, the Social Inclusion team delivered emergency online check-in sessions to offer a supportive space to those affected by anti-asylum protests and events in the UK. These sessions have been crucial for our community and ensured that people have access to support during a difficult time. 124 unique beneficiaries have attended these online events since they began in August 2025.
In 2025, the support and community offered by the Social Inclusion programme have been more critical than ever. This programme builds a different type of home, the one that a community creates, which is essential to our sense of belonging and integration.
125
social inclusion events hosted for LGBTQI people fleeing persecution in 2025
88%
Social Inclusion programme participants felt an increased sense of belonging as a result
88%
Social Inclusion programme participants felt an increased self-esteem as a result
Moving on
Our Moving On programme offers tailored support to refugees in improving their employability skills, accessing education and permanent housing. The long-term goal of this programme is economic empowerment of LGBTQI refugees, leading to people taking back control of their lives.
In 2025, the Moving On programme held 24 workshops, which were delivered in partnership with corporate partners. These workshops were attended by 160 people in our community. The workshop programme for 2025 was diverse, and included CV writing, job search skills, hospitality skills, budgeting for a new life in the UK, communication and interviewing skills and much more.
The Moving On programme also provided one-to-one support to people who received their status during the year, to help the transition from asylum seeker to refugee. This support also included mentoring and employability advice.
In autumn 2025, Micro Rainbow launched the Leadership Group Coaching programme for LGBTQI asylum seekers and refugees. Led by two experienced coaches, including Micro Rainbow founder and CEO Sebastian Rocca, this programme delivered group coaching sessions, alongside individual, tailored coaching for eight participants. Over three months, participants explored and strengthened their leadership potential, built confidence and networks, and learned valuable new skills.
24
workshops delivered in 2025, improving employability for LGBTQI people fleeing persecution
93%
felt an increased sense of independence as a result of engaging with our Moving On programme
What our community looked like in 2025
In 2025, the top three countries that people we supported were from were Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nigeria.
Apart from English, our top three working languages were Arabic, Bengali and Urdu.
30% of Micro Rainbow beneficiaries in 2025 identified as women. Women make up 21% of the UK refugee population
In 2025, 54% of our beneficiaries were under 30 years old.
Read the full report
Help us create a world where no LGBTQI person seeking safety is left behind
Our work is only possible because of people like you. Your support helps us provide housing, community, and opportunities to those rebuilding their lives after fleeing persecution.
There are many ways to take action. You can donate or become an ally to help sustain our services, contact us if you’d like to collaborate or learn more, or give through our Amazon wishlist to provide essential items for our safe houses.
Become an ally
Donate items for our safehouses
Get in touch
Find our previous impact reports
Download our impact reports from 2020-2024 as pdfs.