The Trans Homelessness Crisis

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    In the state of Oregon, those who are trans or transgender make up only 0.46% of the population (around 19,750 people). However, during a survey conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality, it was reported that that a disproportionate amount of trans people have faced housing insecurity with 37% having been homeless at one point in their lives. Unfortunately, a lot of this can be attributed to the current political climate creating general hostility towards trans people and plain lack of awareness. It was reported that 12% have been homeless the previous year due to being transgender, mostly comprising of trans youth. It is usually discrimination from family members that leads to this as they reject and often times cause violence towards them that contribute to the high amount of homelessness within trans youth. There also lies the issue where trans people are given a hard time trying to a place to live once they are kicked out from their home as it was reported that 24% of respondents experienced some form of housing discrimination in the past year such as being denied a home or apartment because of being transgender. There are some resources that may be used such as finding a shelter, but 32% avoided staying in a shelter because they feared being mistreated as a transgender person as shelters and social workers often lack the training and experience of working with trans people and end up putting them in a gendered space that they do not identify as or even denying them shelter completely based on their identity.


Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash

    We have come a long way regarding LGBTQ+ rights, but there is still much to go. Oregon is 1 of 13 states that prohibit discrimination against trans people in employment, 1 in 14 states that protect discrimination against trans people in public, 1 in 13 that protect trans people discrimination in housing, and 1 in 11 states that prohibit gender discrimination in public schools. Trans people have been on the front lines fighting for equality yet are often erased in history. It’s time to start fighting for them as they do for us.

If you’d like to read more on this:

https://www.ustranssurvey.org/ (US Trans Survey website)

https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTSORStateReport(1017).pdf (US Trans Survey Oregon State Report 2015)

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/transgender-population-by-state (World Population Review: Transgender Population by State)

https://www.portlandoregon.gov/71350 (LGBTQ+ Resources)

https://www.portlandoregon.gov/81271 (Trans specific resources)


Posted by: Angelo Alvarez

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