LGBTQ youth are at a much higher risk of experiencing homelessness than their non-LGBTQ peers, according to research from the University of Chicago.
A workshop Monday evening in the Monroe County Public Library sought to help people understand how homelessness affects the local LGBTQ community as winter approaches and temperatures drop.
“This is an issue that particularly affects people in our spectrum,” said Janae Cummings, chair of the Bloomington Pride board of directors. “I think that’s something that a lot of people don’t understand.”
The event was part of a monthly workshop series organized by MCPL and Bloomington Pride, a nonprofit advocacy organization for LGBTQ individuals in Bloomington and South Central Indiana.
Reverend Forrest Gilmore, executive director of Shalom Community Center, shared statistics about homelessness in the community and offered ways people can help.
According to a survey by the The Palette Fund, True Colors Fund and the Williams Institute, 40 percent of homeless youth served by agencies identified as LGBT. The primary cause of homelessness among LGBT individuals surveyed was family rejection. The second most common reason was families forcing individuals to leave home due to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Transgender people are often turned away from shelters, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless.
In October, the Trump administration announced it was considering defining sex as male and female, and unchangeable from birth. This would reduce protections for transgender people under federal civil rights laws.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development under the Obama Administration specifically pushed for LGBTQ rights, including safe and supportive shelters for transgender people, Gilmore said.
HUD under President Trump has rolled back anti-discriminatory measures.
“I find that scary,” Gilmore said. “When we should be moving forward, we’re moving backward.”
Gilmore said a lack of federal protections might not affect progressive Monroe County, but transgender homeless people in other Indiana communities could face challenges.
There are 342 homeless people on a given day in Monroe County, according to a 2018 count by the Shalom Community Center. Gilmore said annual data counts consistently underestimate the actual amount of homeless people in the community because some refuse to talk.
Gilmore suggested people donate, volunteer and advocate to help with issues of homelessness. On the national level, people can advocate for transgender rights. Locally, people can support affordable housing efforts.
