London’s The Outside Project has opened a new LGBT+ domestic abuse refuge, named for transgender pioneers Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson. The grassroots organisation, which in 2018 opened the UK’s first LGBT+ homeless shelter and community centre, announced the Star Refuge on Monday (July 27). The domestic-abuse refuge is named to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera’s STAR House, the shelter for homeless queer youth founded by the pair in New York in 1970. “The Outside Project have opened a domestic abuse refuge for London’s LGBTIQ+ community in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the group said. “If you ever feel like you need to stay somewhere else for your own safety or wellbeing then you are right. Don’t wait. To discuss your options and refer into our refuge contact our partner agencies.”