Sents I posted my origanl artical (see below) many new laws have been past and things are getting better.
Christmas season is a time for rejoicing. It is also a time when the plight of the homeless stands in sharp contrast to the all-round festive mood.
Indeed, homelessness is a pervasive national problem, and it is all the more so for transgender people. Transgender and gender-nonconforming people are more susceptible to homelessness than the general population, reports City Limits News.
The National Transgender Discrimination Survey is due to release a report on housing before the end of the year and it will show that 19 percent of the 6,560 transgender people surveyed nationwide have experienced homelessness at some point.
The reasons for the increased likelihood of homelessness for transgender people are obvious. Many are less likely to have parental support, and they often get kicked out of their homes for gender nonconformity. There is also job-related discrimination which means transgender people are more likely to be unemployed.
And when they have access to shelters, homeless people also face the problem of harassment or worse, assault, because they might not have access to shelters of their chosen gender identity.
“Some cities say you have to live with people of the gender of your birth, which flies in the face of a very certain preference, a comfort level and rightness factor,” Neil Donovan, executive director of National Coalition for the Homeless, says. “The way they address the problem is not addressing it.”
The Transgender Discrimination Survey found that of the 19 percent who have experienced homelessness, 29 percent were denied access to a shelter, 42 percent were “forced to live as the wrong gender to be allowed to stay in a shelter” and 47 percent decided to leave a shelter because of poor treatment. Twenty-five percent have been physically assaulted or attacked by resident or staff and 22 percent have been sexually assaulted by residents or staff.
Nationally, New York, San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles and Sacramento are cities that have implemented positive polices and have the most transgender-inclusive shelter systems in the world, advocates say.
In New York City, the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) implement a policy in 2006 which allows a transgender and gender nonconforming person to choose to stay in the shelter for the gender that he or she identifies as, regardless of whether the person has taken legal or medical steps to align his or her body with that identity.
The policy also states that “staff will address individuals with names, titles and other terms appropriate to their gender identity” and “staff at Intake/Shelter assignments will receive training on diversity, transgender and intersex issues.”
Three men’s and three women’s shelters incorporated the policy in January 2006 as part of a pilot program, but the policy now applies at all homeless shelters that receive city funding.
Tiffany Jones, who became homeless when she was no longer eligible for foster care, has been living in a women’s shelter in New York for 10 months, even though she is still legally identified as a man. She had first sought refuge at a men’s shelter last September, and was surprised when the staff asked if she was transgender and if she preferred to live in a women’s shelter.
“They saw that I’m a woman,” says Jones, 22. “There’s still some negative attention surrounding living with women. I had a couple fights when I first came in but not anymore. I had to prove a point that just because I’m transgender there’s no way of beating me. But if I were in the men’s shelter I’d be beaten up or raped,” she said.
DHS has not comprehensively studied the effects of the policy on transgender people since its implementation, but it says that it is pleased with the overall outcome. Homeless advocates also say the number of complaints of violence and harassment they receive has dropped since the policy’s implementation.
The policy has thus far worked more in one direction than the other, though. Transgender women are now able stay in women’s shelters, where they are safer from violence. However men’s shelters remain unsafe place for both transgender men and women. This means that many transgender men still stay in women’s shelters, as they are afraid of violence and harassment if residents in men’s shelters found out their identities.
“I spoke to a transgender man who wanted to go to a men’s shelter, as much as I protested,” said Jay Toole, Director of the Shelter Project at Queers for Economic Justice. “I told the shelter I was sending a transman in to just be aware for safety. A day later, he called and said he can’t stay there. It’s too unsafe. If the other residents ever perceived [him]as a transman, it would be unsafe.”
In the meantime, Jones hopes to obtain permanent housing and move out of the shelter system as soon as possible. “I’m trying to get housing somehow. I’m not where exactly I want to be,” she said. She is, however, thankful that she has a place to stay while doing so. “I have female friends I can look upon for advice. I’m comfortable being here with females so that’s fantastic.”
Making 'Room at the Inn' For Transgender People
This is an issue that is very important to me. I have had a first hand view of transgender discrimination in a homeless shelter I stayed at while in Providence RI . That is why it give me great pleasure to post this article on skykid2.com please read
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NATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN TASK FORCE
MEDIA RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Task Force: Sheri A. Lunn – Director of Communications
media@ngltf.org; 323-857-8751 or Roberta
Sklar 917-704-6358
National Coalition for the Homeless: Donald Whitehead 202-737-6444 ext.
14
http://www.TheTaskForce.org
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-New Guide Provides Concrete Recommendations for Shelters on How to Make Shelters
Safe for Transgender People
"I don't think most Americans have any idea how much discrimination transgender
people face," said Matt Foreman, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive
Director. "If they did, more people would be doing something about it.
Transgender people who lose their jobs because of discrimination, then lose
their homes because they can no longer pay the rent or mortgage, are still likely
to get a 'your kind is not welcome here' from an emergency shelter. I am hopeful
that this guide will be a tool for shelters to make changes so that all people
have a safe and warm place to stay."
"Transitioning Our Shelters: A Guide to Making Homeless Shelters Safe for
Transgender People" is a joint publication of the National Coalition for
the Homeless and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Earlier this year,
the National Coalition for the Homeless adopted a nondiscrimination resolution
covering transgender people. The guide combines the transgender expertise of
the Task Force with NCH's expertise on shelters to produce a usable guide that
is suitable for homeless shelters across the country.
Most homeless shelters are segregated by sex, and, most shelters, if they accept
transgender residents, require that they be housed with members of the sex they
were assigned at birth. Transgender women who identify and live as women but
were born male report that male residents harass, sexually proposition, and
sometimes even assault them. Transgender men who identify and live as men but
were born female are sometimes placed in men's shelters that do not have privacy
in bathrooms (no stall doors) or in showers. Gender-based dress codes are also
a significant problem, especially for transgender youth in shelters who can
face discipline for simply dressing according to their own gender identity.
The problem of unsafe shelters for transgender people is especially alarming
given the frequent and pervasive discrimination that transgender people face.
For example, many transgender people are not welcome in their family home, have
been harassed out of school, and cannot acquire employment. Due to this discrimination,
transgender people have an increased need for social services including homeless
shelters. Unfortunately, when shelter policies, other residents, and the service
providers themselves discriminate, which is an all too common reality, transgender
people often have no where to go.
The Guide is designed for shelters that want to provide safe shelter for transgender
people but are not sure how to do so. The Guide provides many answers to concerns
about safety and privacy for all shelter residents, including transgender residents,
the bulk of which are addressed without monetary expenditures.
"Our goal was to ground our policy recommendations in the reality of shelter
life. That is why the recommendations are based on successes at real shelters
across the country," said Lisa Mottet, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Legislative Lawyer for the Transgender Civil Rights Project and lead author
of the Guide. Recommendations in the Guide are primarily derived from solutions
forwarded by shelters and advocates in Boston, San Francisco, Toronto, and Washington,
DC.
Mottet developed her expertise on making shelters safe for transgender people
while working with a coalition of groups in Washington, DC. For her work, she
received the "Human Services Award" from Transgender Health Empowerment,
Inc., a local transgender organization.
In addition to its own distribution, the Task Force and NCH are encouraging
local activists to share this guide with local homeless shelters, assist them
with policy development, and provide transgender-sensitivity training for shelter
staff.
"Transitioning Our Shelters: A Guide to Making Homeless Shelters Safe for
Transgender People" is available for free download from the Task Force
publications library. (http://www.TheTaskForce.org/library).
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Transgender Civil Rights Project
provides legislative and strategy assistance, including evaluation of legislative
language, to activists and organizations working to pass trans-inclusive anti-discrimination
bills or to add transgender protections to existing laws.
***************************************************************
Founded in 1973, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is the oldest national
organization working to eliminate prejudice, violence and injustice against
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people at the local, state and
national level. The Task Force trains activists and leaders and organizes broad-based
campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation. The
Task Force Policy Institute, the community's premiere think tank, researches
and reports on critical policy issues. As part of a broader social justice movement
for freedom, justice and equality, the Task Force is creating a world that respects
and celebrates the diversity of human expression and identity where all people
may fully participate in society.
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last edited on Sunday, December 12, 2010 10:58 AM