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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 [1]. 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.” [1] http://www.citylimits.org/news/articles/4235/for-transgender-homeless-choice-of-shelter-can-prevent-violence

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