How Social Discrimination & Housing (Un)Affordability Causes Gender-Expansive Homelessness and Policy Recommendations to Ensure that Everyone is Housed Transgender, gender non-binary, gender non-singular and gender-questioning people (gender-expansive) in the United States are more likely than their cisgen- der counterparts to experience housing precarity and homelessness. While this disparity results from structural and individual discrimination that limits access to economic, social and political capital, it also results from a massive gap in the amount of affordable and adequate permanent housing available to all low-in- come members of U.S. society. As a per- son who experienced housing instability and unsheltered homelessness prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as discrim- ination from the mental health system as a result of my gender-identity during COVID-19, this policy brief is informed by my lived experience. While I often felt shame and personal responsibility for my situation, I came to realize that my lived experience reflects structural inequities and gaps in the U.S. housing system. Often, when people are unable to rent or own permanent housing due to the excessive and increasing cost of living in many parts of the United States, they rely on the emergency shelter system. This system has a diligent and attentive frontline workforce. There is also abun- dant evidence demonstrating that safe and affirming emergency housing can help stabilize mental health, physical health and financial challenges. Nevertheless, there is a systemic lack of funding to adequately support the shelter workforce and keep up with the need for emergency shelter beds. Compounded by inadequate anti-discrimi- nation rules, the emergency shelter system does not serve the needs of low-income, gender-expansive people. Using my lived experience as inspiration, this policy brief will outline these gaps in emergency housing services and their specific impact on gender-expansive people. It will then point to existing legislation and shelter re- forms that could help alleviate these gaps. Designer nick asbell IU Indianapolis Office of community engagement staff liz m. terry IU Indianapolis A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S 6 Associate editors william b. crow Lehigh University carolyn gentle-genitty Indiana University jim grim Community Engaged Scholar rita hodges University of Pennsylvania natasha howard Morehouse College terri jett Butler University brendan maxcy IU Indianapolis eric kyere IU Indianapolis virgil gregory IU Indianapolis mary price Forum on Education Abroad carol rogers IU Indianapolis javiette vashan samuel Univeristy of Tennessee, Knoxville sarah stanlick Worcester Polytechnic Institute ellen szarleta IU, Northwest laura weaver Purdue Doctoral Student Online journal development ted polley IU Indianapolis Editors khaula murtadha IU Indianapolis andrea copeland IU Indianapolis Author DANIEL SOUCY S O U C Y | G E N D E R - E X P A N S I V E H O M E L E S S N E S S 7 VO L . 5, I S S U E 2 Trends: Gender-Expansive People Are More Likely to Expe- rience Homelessness Due to a Limited and Exclusive Permanent and Emergency Housing System Prior to 2019, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) did not track gender-expansive homelessness. However, independent research prior to 2019 and HUD data since 2019 clearly demonstrates that gender-expansive people are far more likely than their cisgender counterparts to experience homelessness and, in particular, unsheltered homelessness. While unsheltered homelessness has increased for all genders since 2019, Figure 1 demonstrates that gender-expansive people are much more likely to be forced to reside in a car, tent, abandoned building or other location “unfit for human habitation”. These trends result from structural factors. Gender-ex- pansive people are more likely to live without access to stable employment. They are also more likely to expe- rience discrimination from their social networks. The consequences of these forms of social isolation are espe- cially prevalent among youth. Gender-expansive youth experience housing instability and homelessness at rates twice as high as cisgender youth. Figure 2 illustrates that nearly 40 percent of surveyed transgender youth reported experiencing housing instability or homelessness during their lives. Leading causes of homelessness are bullying, harassment and discrimination that make it extremely difficult for gender-expansive youth to access education and economic opportunities. Note: (HUD Exchange 2023) Figure 1: While unsheltered home- lessness has increased for all genders since 2019 (HUD Exchange, 2023), Figure 1 demonstrates that gen- der-expansive people are much more likely to be forced to reside in a car, tent, abandoned building or other location “un- fit for human habitation 8 S O U C Y | G E N D E R - E X P A N S I V E H O M E L E S S N E S S ENGAGE! | h o m e l e s s n e s s & h o u s i n g i n s ec u r i t y lack of affordable housing causes homelessness: Housing precarity amongst low-income households has increased due to an affordable housing crisis across the United States. Households that HUD defines as ‘very low-income’ (those households making less than 50 percent of their area’s median income) and ‘extremely low income’ (those households making less than 30 percent of the area median income) are most likely to suffer from this shortage. Nevertheless, even wealthier households increasingly pay more than one-half of their income for rent or live in severely inadequate conditions and therefore also meet HUD’s definition of worst-case housing needs. Methods to improve housing stability include Project Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) to fund designated units for low-income households and Housing Choice Vouchers which offer assistance to families with low income renting in the private market. However, due to budget shortfalls and poor management, these safety nets are both notoriously inaccessible to low-income residents and prioritize access to cisgender families at the exclu- sion of gender-expansive people. shelters remain unsafe and- unavailable for gender-expan- sive people: Without affordable housing, there is a greater need for emergency shelter assistance, especially for gender-ex- pansive people and people of color. Just as permanent affordable housing is not meeting demand, neither are emergency shelters. At the same time, emergency services like shelters and rapid rehousing programs are inaccessible to gender-ex- pansive people. One study found that 85 percent of gen- der-expansive people experiencing homelessness did not seek shelter due to fear of mistreatment. Of those who did, 41 percent were denied access and 44 percent report- ed mistreatment (O'Neill & Wilson, 2020). Given that people of color also experience individual and systemic housing discrimination as a result of their race (National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2021), gender-expan- sive people of color are even less likely to have access to stable housing. Note: Rates of Youth Homelessness by Gender in 2022, The Trevor Project, 2022 Figure 2: VO L . 5, I S S U E 29 Policy Considerations: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic and Current Funding Proposals the eviction protection program: The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates that the federal government has mechanisms to reduce housing insta- bility and homelessness for gender-expansive people. Specifically, during the pandemic, the treasury distribut- ed an unprecedented $46.5 billion in emergency rental assistance to states to prevent low-income people from losing their housing. The Office of Evaluation Services (OES) reported that people of color and women benefited from this assistance in large part because state housing authorities were required to promote racial equity and target assistance to these groups (National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2021). Targeting federal assistance to gender-expansive people could similarly disrupt the inequities described previously. gender-inclusive shelter access: Gender-expansive people also suffer from state and local policies that empower private housing providers and non-profit shelters to discriminate against gender-expan- sive people. During the pandemic, however, many states utilized hotel rooms and other single occupancy units. Increasing rental assistance and non-congregate shelters that provide people of all genders more space and access demonstrates how funding and policy changes can ensure that gender-expansive people feel safe in their housing environment. Additionally, lawmakers must ensure that HUD’s Equal Access Rule remains in place. The Equal Access Rule is a regulation which prohibits discrimination against LGBTQ people in HUD-funded shelter services. Crucial- ly, it requires that transgender individuals be allowed to use the dorm and bathroom facilities that align with their gender identity. Conservative lawmakers have attempted to eliminate this rule when allocating funds to HUD . This would make it even more difficult and even more unsafe for gender-expansive individuals to seek emergency housing. S O U C Y | G E N D E R - E X P A N S I V E H O M E L E S S N E S S Note: Development & Research 2023 Figure 3: 10ENGAGE! | h o m e l e s s n e s s & h o u s i n g i n s ec u r i t y S O U C Y | G E N D E R - E X P A N S I V E H O M E L E S S N E S S what is the proposed budget allocation for 2024? In its fiscal year 2024 draft spending bill, the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Appropriation’s Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) increased its allocation to HUD by $8.26 billion (Appropriations, 2023). Meanwhile, the House spend- ing bill proposed an increase of just $2.91 billion and reduced HUD grant programs—a critical mechanism for improving low-income communities’ ability to increase affordable housing supply —by $1.733 billion. This is 28 percent lower than fiscal year 2023. Researchers estimate that Congress needs to increase HUD’s funding by at least $13 billion to keep up with inflation and rising housing prices. Implications: Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and research by housing scholars have made abundantly clear that indi- vidual identifiers like race, gender and income exasperate homelessness, especially amongst gender-expansive people. However, at its core, homelessness is a housing problem. It is evident that the United States is experienc- ing an affordable housing crisis resulting from decades of inadequate funding. The solution is simple, albeit not politically expedient: Congress needs to greatly exceed previous funding increases for safe and affordable per- manent housing and immediate short-term opportunities for emergency shelter. ensure federal discrimination protection in housing and shelter As previously mentioned, these shelters need to provide specific support to gender-expansive people and gen- der-expansive people of color who have traditionally been excluded from permanent and emergency housing programs. There also needs to be federal protections against discrimination in these settings. Without pro- tections in both privately- and federally-funded shelter settings, gender-expansive people will continue to face barriers when seeking a place to stay, and will be forced into unsheltered settings. increase affordable housing: States and localities that have looked at their housing market data and increased affordable housing supply and targeted assistance to low-income households have had success in reducing housing instability and home- lessness. Increasing affordable housing through federal policy will benefit all residents across geographic and demographic differences by creating a more equitable, secure and stable economy. Gender-expansive people have effectively advocated for our health, economic and social safety for decades. We have also created alternative support systems like group homes and mutual aid networks to survive in the face of structural hostility. It is well past time to increase affordable housing and shelter for gender-expansive people, as well as affirm anti-discrimination protections within these systems. This will create a safer, equitable and inclusive society that will support all low-income households across the United States who have felt the stress and pain of housing insecurity and homelessness. gender-expansive people need affordable housing and safe shelters now: - Future funding bills must dramatically increase housing affordability through Housing Choice Vouchers, public housing units and emergency rental assistance. - Increases in funding must prioritize equity. Emergency housing organizations should institute non-discrimination protections and allow gender-expansive people to choose their housing environment based on their gender identity. - At the same time, lawmakers should also allow HUD to increase emergency shelter beds specifically for gen- der-expansive people. - The design and implementation of new permanent and emergency housing programs must include the voices of gender-expansive people and people of color with lived experience of homelessness. Daniel Soucy, a researcher and advocate who identifies as Queer, white and a person with lived expertise of homelessness. VO L . 5, I S S U E 211 S O U C Y | G E N D E R - E X P A N S I V E H O M E L E S S N E S S References ACLU. (2023). Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures. Retrieved August 2023, from American Civil Liber- ties Union: https://www.aclu.org/ legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights Aldern , C., & Colburn, G. (2022). Homelessness is a Housing Prob- lem. 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