Homelessness and the Trans Community

Transgender people face increased risk of homelessness due to the transphobia that is prevalent in our society. There are very few studies that have been done on transgender people, but the few that have been complete show the problems that transgender people have in finding safe, adequate, secure housing

The Washington Transgender Needs Assessment Study, conducted by Jessica Xavier in the District of Columbia from September 1998 to May 2000 and found that:

• One third of transgender people were earning $10,000 or less per year.
• 29% of respondents were unemployed.
• Only one in four respondents reported being satisfied with his or her housing situation.
• 13% of respondents reported not feeling safe in their current housing.
• 15% reported losing a job due to discrimination in the workplace.
• Only 58% had paid employment.

A study conducted by the Transgender Law Center and the National Center for Lesbian Rights also shows pervasive discrimination. Their study of transgender people in San Francisco found that:

• 64% made less than $25,000 a year.
• Over 40% did not have health insurance.
• One in five did not have stable housing.

Both of these studies site the following factors as contributing to the heightened risk of poverty and homelessness in the transgender community:

• Employment discrimination.
• Lack of economic/housing support from family.
• Lack of education and training because of harassment or discrimination, which results in an inability to acquire jobs.
• Inability to access standard healthcare due to discrimination by providers and other barriers.
• Unwillingness of insurance companies to cover almost all transgender related health care.
• Inability to pay for transgender-related healthcare such as hormones, counseling, and gender reassignment procedures.
• Discrimination by housing providers, landlords, etc.
• Discrimination by social service agencies.
• Inability to meet “workfare” requirements due to discrimination at workfare sites.

Transgender people have a very difficult time accessing homeless shelters that are safe for them. Nearly all homeless shelters in the United States are segregated by sex, and transgender people are often not allowed to be housed with the appropriate sex. If a shelter accepts transgender residents at all, often shelters require genital surgery before admitting them. Transgender women who are required to stay in men’s facilities report that they are sexually propositioned, verbally harassed, and sometimes assaulted. Even when people are allowed to be housed in the facility based on the gender with which they self-identify, some facilities need to increase the safety and privacy of the environment. For example, transgender men are sometimes housed in men’s shelters that do not have enough privacy in the showers and bathrooms (such as no curtains or stall doors). Another significant problem is that some shelters have strict sex-based dress codes. This problem is especially present in youth shelters, in which youth are often disciplined and ejected because of violating the dress code policies of the shelter.

Fortunately, there are ways to make the homeless shelters in your community safer for transgender people. In some cities, transgender communities have organized to educate shelters on what policies need to change and have provided shelter staff necessary transgender sensitivity training. The following are some resources that can help you in your effort to solve this problem in your community:

From the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s Transgender Civil Rights Project, 'Transitioning Our Shelters: A Guide to Making Shelters Safe for Transgender People'. This 50-page guide is perfect for use by shelter administrators and staff as well as for activists who need to get up to speed on the problem of unsafe shelters and the policy solutions for shelters to implement.

Click on the picture to get a free download of this publication from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

From the Trans Communities Shelter Access Project of the 519 Community Centre in Toronto, Canada, a set of web pages that describe the problems of transgender people seeking shelter and giving recommendations on solutions. http://www.the519.org/programs/trans/access_project/index.shtml.

From the Boston Public Health Commission, 'Protocol for Serving Transgender Guests and Health Services Guidelines for Serving Transgender Guests', available from the Transgender law and Policy website. http://www.transgenderlaw.org/resources/transprotocol.pdf

Resources

National Coalition for the Homeless
http://www.nationalhomeless.org

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
http://www.thetaskforce.org

Trans Communities Shelters Access Project
http://www.the519.org/programs/trans/access_project/index.shtml

The National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s Transgender Civil Rights Project
'Transitioning Our Shelters: A Guide to Making Shelters Safe for Transgender People'
http://www.thetaskforce.org/library/index.cfm

The Boston Public Health Commission Protocol for Serving Transgender Guests and Health Services Guidelines for Serving Transgender Guests
http://www.transgenderlaw.org/resources/transprotocol.pdf

Silvia Rivera Law Project
http://www.srlp.org