Officials in Krakow, Poland, have funded a shelter for homeless LGBTQ+ people despite government hostility towards the queer community. According to ABC News, local authorities are giving around $50,000 to the shelter which offers temporary accommodation and psychological support for up to 12 LGBTQ+ people. It is run by charitable foundation, The Voice of the Heart, but is reportedly struggling financially.
City funds are also due to be offered to an LGBTQ+ shelter Warsaw, the Polish capital, after mayor Rafal Trzaskowski signed a declaration of support for the LGBTQ+ community in 2019. Opposition to LGBTQ+ rights has grown rapidly since the 2020 re-election of anti-LGBTQ+ president, Andrzej Duda, who vowed to crack down on what he refers to as ‘LGBTQ+ ideology’, causing some LGBTQ+ Poles to flee the country in fear.
There are now over 100 so-called ‘LGBTQ+ free zones’ in Poland, which have all signed pledges agreeing to ‘oppose acts of tolerance’ towards the queer community. European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, publicly condemned the creation of ‘LGBTQ+ free zones’, saying they have no place in the EU. Some of these towns have already been denied EU funding for town twinning, and hundreds of thousands signed a petition demanding greater EU action against government hostility towards the LGBTQ+ community.
