Protect Equal Access for Transgender People Seeking Shelter

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has proposed a new rule that would dismantle equal access protections for transgender people who seek shelter services. If the proposed rule goes into effect, taxpayer-funded shelters would be able to turn away transgender and non-binary people.

We need to tell HUD that its proposed discrimination against vulnerable people who are seeking support due to homelessness, domestic violence, natural disaster, or health crisis is cruel and wrong. Submit your comment today and help us oppose this dangerous proposal.

This rule change would hurt transgender and non-binary people, and it will hit BIPOC and disabled people the hardest. According to the 2015 US Transgender Survey, nearly one-third of transgender and gender non-binary people experience homelessness at some point in their life; and about one-half of transgender and non-binary people who identify as Black, Middle Eastern, multiracial, or undocumented experience homelessness at some point in their life.

Gutting discrimination protections would be dangerous and unjust at any time, but during the COVID-19 crisis the effects are immediate and clear. People who need shelter access often are connected to individual housing through shelters, and that is the best way to prevent exposure and spread of COVID-19. And as eviction moratoriums begin to expire around the country, the need for safe and healthy shelter is only likely to increase. Especially during this crisis, we need more access to shelters for as many people as possible, not less.

The deadline to submit a comment against the proposed HUD rule is Tuesday, September 22. Make your voice heard against this latest attack on our community. Make your comment today.