Des is a brand new drama series which follows the arrest and trial of serial killer Dennis Nilsen
BY SOPHIE GRIFFITHS
Stonewall Housing, the only charity in the UK working with LGBTQI people of all ages, have partnered with New Pictures to provide guidance and support for viewers when the three-part drama series airs this September.
Stonewall Housing was established in 1983 and provides supported accommodation for LGBTQI people who have nowhere else to turn to and are proud to provide the UK’s only Trans and Non-Binary specific supported housing scheme.
Each year Stonewall Housing supports over 1200 LGBTQI people who have been made homeless due to their identity to access safe accommodation. Often younger generations of the LGBTQI homeless community seek refuge, kindness and support, often with strangers either they meet in bars, and now online.
Dennis Nilsen, commonly known as Des, was one of the UK’s most infamous serial killers in UK history. Referred to as the “kindly killer”, Nilsen was a civil servant who spent five years murdering boys and young men he met on the streets of London from 1978 to 1983. He would meet and befriend these men before offering them food or lodgings for the evening back at his North London flat.
His victims were often homeless or living off-grid, having slipped through the cracks of 1980s society and were therefore welcoming of this stranger’s apparent generosity. When he was finally caught on 9 February 1983, Nilsen had murdered as many as 15 men over a period of five years, making him Britain’s most prolific serial killer of the time.
Steven McIntyre, Chief Executive of Stonewall Housing, said: “We were delighted to partner with New Pictures to highlight the issues LGBTQ+ people face when they have nowhere safe to live. We want to ensure that viewers understand the issues that affect young people coming out and how, even now in 2020, one of the biggest risks is that they become homeless.
“You can help by making sure your loved ones know that you accept them, all of them, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation. Acceptance, celebration and unconditional love really does save lives.”
