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# Mental health app Voda raises £650,000 funding to support LGBTQ+ communities amid rising UK hostility
- URL: https://www.scenemag.co.uk/mental-health-app-voda-raises-650-000-funding-to-support-lgbtq-communities-amid-rising-uk-hostility/
- Published: 2025-06-18T11:54:13.000Z
- Updated: 2025-06-18T11:54:13.000Z
- Author: Graham Robson
- Tags: News

[**Voda**](https://www.voda.co/?ref=scenemag.co.uk), the award-winning mental health app built by and for LGBTQ+ people, has raised £650,000 to scale its inclusive, therapist-developed mental health support — at a time when queer and trans communities across the UK are facing increasing hostility, targeted legislation, and limited access to culturally competent care.

Co-created with a team of seven LGBTQ+ psychotherapists and psychologists of diverse gender, sexuality, and ethnic backgrounds, Voda combines therapeutic rigour with lived experience to provide trauma-informed, self-guided support. The app offers pathways for users navigating coming out, gender dysphoria, discrimination and hate speech.

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/2025/06/Unknown.png)

This latest raise marks a significant milestone for Voda, following a successful community-backed launch last year. The London-based app now supports more than **35,000 LGBTQ+ users worldwide**, with a growing UK user base, and offers accessible tools for building self-worth, processing difficult emotions, and fostering emotional wellbeing in the face of adversity. With this funding, Voda will scale its reach, develop new therapeutic content with LGBTQ+ clinicians, and introduce community-led features that support everyday wellbeing.

The announcement comes amid a concerning rise in anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric across the UK — including renewed attacks on trans rights, the scrapping of NHS LGBTQ+ inclusion initiatives, and widening gaps in access to mental health support. For many, especially those in rural areas or on long waiting lists, affirming care remains inaccessible.

**Chris Sheridan** MBACP, Lead Therapist at Voda commented: “Our community, particularly trans, non-binary and gender-diverse people are not struggling because they are unwilling to seek help. They’re struggling because the system is increasingly hostile to them.”

**Jaron Soh**, Co-founder and CEO of Voda, added: “In a time where LGBTQ+ rights are being rolled back and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments are on the rise, we’re proud to be building a queer-led platform that centres care and dignity. This funding will give us the ability to support thousands more LGBTQ+ people across the UK with the mental health support they deserve.”