Nonprofits, shelters join in commitment to safe housing for transgender community
By DEBORAH SWEARINGEN | dswearingen@prairiemountainmedia.com | Boulder Daily Camera
October 4, 2020 at 12:00 p.m.
With the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development considering modifications to the 2016 portion of the Equal Access Rule, agencies across Boulder County are joining forces to show support for transgender people using homeless shelters or transitional housing services in the Boulder area.
The proposed modifications to the Equal Access Rule would allow shelters to develop policies that are “based on biological sex, sex as identified on official government identification or the current rule’s mandate of self-identified gender identity.” It’s a move that could open the door for HUD-funded shelters and programs to discriminate against transgender residents.
If approved, the changes would leave individual shelters with discretion, and Michal Duffy, the education and program manager with Out Boulder County, said they’re not aware of any specific incidents of harm against transgender people using shelter services in the Boulder area. Still, Duffy, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, felt it was vital to be proactive.
Out Boulder County, the Boulder Human Relations Commission and numerous Boulder-area shelters and nonprofit organizations released a statement confirming a commitment to uphold individuals’ rights to access shelter and services based on their gender identity and to ensure that those seeking services are not asked invasive questions about their sex.
“Anything we can do to affirm that people be treated with respect and dignity is really important,” Duffy said.
“I think, you know, folks who are seeking shelter services are in a rough situation. They’re seeking care,” they said, later adding, “It’s really important to reduce barriers as much as we can for folks who are experiencing hard times and marginalized identities.”
Lindsey Loberg, chairperson of the Boulder Human Relations Commission, agreed. Loberg, who also goes by gender-neutral pronouns, said it’s important for people to know that local service providers will uphold their rights regardless of what’s happening at the federal level.
They said it’s particularly important due to high rates of homelessness in the transgender community.
A 2015 survey conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality indicates that nearly one-third of the 27,715 respondents had experienced homelessness at some point in their lives. Likewise, a Colorado-specific survey released within the same 2015 report shows 34% of the 669 respondents had experienced homelessness at some point.
According to Lisa Sweeney-Miran, executive director of Mother House, those numbers are often “grossly underreported.” Mother House, a Boulder-based nonprofit serving at-risk mothers and their newborns, over the summer opened The Lodge, an emergency shelter specifically designed for those who identify as women, transgender or nonbinary.
For Sweeney-Miran, it’s comforting to be able to provide an alternative for anyone in a marginalized category who may be experiencing homelessness in Boulder.
“When you’re afraid to go to sleep for fear of rape or sexual violence or even just harassment or physical violence, your ability to do anything is greatly inhibited,” she said.
At the end of the day, Duffy wants to ensure Boulder is a safe place for all, no matter what’s happening nationally,
“Here in Boulder County, we respect and recognize you, and you will be treated with … dignity based on how you identify,” they said.