For the past six months millions of Americans have watched their financial situation rapidly decline due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As a result an unprecedented number of residents are facing housing instability. In the midst of this impending housing crisis the Trump administration has proposed a new set of federal rules designed to deny shelter for transgender people experiencing homelessness. The recently proposed rule change from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) seeks to undermine the 2016 Equal Access Rule that was put in place by the Obama administration. The new proposal attempts to strip away protections against gender identity discrimination & would allow shelters to deny transgender people equal access to sex-segregated shelters by limiting shelter access based on assumptions of a person’s biological sex & not their gender identity. Sharita Gruberg, Center For American Progress Senior Director For LGBTQ Research & Communications Project Stated, “People who are transgender or gender-nonconforming face tremendous difficulty accessing safe shelter. Rather than complying with its obligations under the law & the agency’s mission to build inclusive & sustainable communities free from discrimination, under the leadership of Secretary Ben Carson, HUD is pursuing a discriminatory agenda & with this latest proposal, sanctioning government-sponsored discrimination against transgender people.” Homelessness among transgender individuals has increased by 88 percent since 2016 & 63% of the transgender homeless population does not reside in a shelter or in transitional housing. A new nationally representative Center For American Progress survey found that 87% of transgender respondents reported it would be beyond challenging to find an alternative shelter if refused.
For More Info: americanprogress.org
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