Writing for Leeds Inspired, Rob Wilson of LGBTQ+ community organisation Angels of Freedom reflects on what belonging means, ahead of the group’s move into a newly leased space at Woodhouse Community Centre.
For Wilson, belonging means more than simply occupying a space — it’s the sense that people are glad you’re there, that you can be yourself without judgement, and that you’re part of something bigger than yourself.
He traces that idea back to his own experience roughly nine years ago, building a new life free of alcohol dependency: sobriety itself, he writes, wasn’t one single turning point, but the start of a life shaped by small, ordinary moments — conversations, friendships and people who made him feel welcome — that gave him the confidence to repair relationships, build up a career, get on the property ladder, pass his driving test, and eventually start creating community opportunities for others across Leeds.
Angels of Freedom’s activities — football, badminton, shared meals, social groups and day trips — are often what people notice first, but Wilson says the real value lies beneath the surface: the friendships and support networks that form around them, particularly for LGBTQ+ people the organisation supports, including asylum seekers and refugees who may have faced rejection or displacement and arrived in Leeds knowing almost no one.
He recalls one member’s feedback from a recent wellbeing assessment: “When I joined Angels of Freedom, I got new hope. I am now feeling relaxed. I have no tensions now because of your support and help.”
As Angels of Freedom begins this new chapter at Woodhouse Community Centre, Wilson writes that what matters most isn’t the room itself, but the relationships that will grow within it.
