Making our shelters transgender friendly

The weather woman (yes it was a woman I’m not just being politically correct) tells me that there will be a frost this weekend here in New England. That’s great for my carrots; a good frost sweetens them up.

It’s not so good for transgender homeless people who try and find a safe place to sleep in a shelter. We’ve written about the need for shelters for transgender people before, back in July 2006 in the article, “Shelter/Housing Needs for GLBT Victims of Domestic Violence“.

At the Creating Change web site they have some ideas on how to make those shelters transgender friendly. They have published a 59 page booklet to try and suggest those changes. According to Creating Change:

Transgender people are disproportionately represented in the homeless population because of the frequent discrimination they face at home, in school and on the job.

Homeless transgender people can experience extreme difficulties obtaining adequate and safe shelter because many facilities have rules about gender-related dress or appearance.

Rules about the following can create problems:

• Intake processes and confidentiality;
• Harassment;
• Showers;
• Restrooms;
• Sleeping arrangements;
• Dress codes.

Life is hard enough on the street without having to deal with all that too. The Creating Change booklet has some great ideas and you can read about them by downloading the booklet from their website by visiting Creating Change’s “Transitioning our Shelter’s” booklet at their site here.