Warsaw will open an intervention hostel for LGBT+ people who have become homeless.
The establishment of the hostel comes at a time when the Polish state has been accused of fostering an environment of intolerance towards sexual minorities.
The United Right coalition, which holds power in Poland, has faced accusations of scapegoating LGBT people, and sexual and reproductive health activists for political ends, under the rubric of attacks on “gender ideology.”
Posting on social media, Warsaw’s deputy mayor Aldona Machnowska-Góra said: “The Capital City of Warsaw is a place open to everyone. We want everyone to have equal rights and opportunities, feel good and, above all, to be safe.”
The new hostel in the Polish capital will be run by the Lambda Warsaw Association, an organisation which for over 20 years has been supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
“The Capital City of Warsaw is a place open to everyone. We want everyone to have equal rights and opportunities, feel good and, above all, to be safe,” Warsaw’s Deputy Mayor Aldona Machnowska-Góra wrote on social media announcing the result of the tender.
“The facility will provide not only safe shelter for LGBT+ people who have lost their homes, but also the necessary psychological, legal and social support to enable them to stand on their own two feet,” she added.
The Lambda Warsaw Association, together with the Trans-Fuzja Foundation, ran the first intervention hostel for LGBT+ people in Poland in 2025-2016
Machnowska-Góra added: “The facility will provide not only safe shelter for LGBT+ people who have lost their homes, but also the necessary psychological, legal and social support to enable them to stand on their own two feet.”
“We have sheltered dozens of people who found themselves in a difficult life situations. We are happy that we will be able to help again in this way, because we know how much such a place is needed in Warsaw and how many people are waiting for it,” Lambda wrote on its website.
The establishment of the facility will fulfil one of the provisions of the so-called “Warsaw LGBT+ Declaration” signed in 2019 by Rafał Trzaskowski, Warsaw’s mayor. The document envisages a fast-track aid mechanism for LGBT+ and anti-discrimination education. It also covers such areas as: safety, education, culture and sport, administration, as well as work.
The declaration is in contrast to controversial local authority resolutions against sexual minorities. In Poland, dozens of small towns have declared themselves “LGBT free zones.”
