After years of escalating reports regarding abuse against transgenders in the Bay Area shelter system, one community leader is doing something to alleviate the problem.
Clair Farley, associate director of economic development at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, is behind an indiegogo campaign to get a safe, secure transgender shelter off the ground in Oakland.
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Transgenders are in dire need of safe spaces to call their own, Farley reports. "Our current shelter system is not accessible to transgender people despite local protections in public accommodations. We hear countless stories of trans women who are forced to live in the parks because of the violence they experience in the shelters. Those who don't find a bed for the night are right back on the streets because there are no long-term housing options for transgender people."
The hope is that Queens Cottage Shelter will open in Oakland in the near future. Queens Cottage is partnering with Transitions House, a trans housing advocacy group, to make it happen. Oakland was chosen because of its unusually high number of homeless trans people, and because rent will be cheaper than in San Francisco.
Statistics on transgender unemployment have varied from study to study, but it's generally agreed that the number is consistently above 50 percent; Farley believes that it may be close to 70 percent in San Francisco, a figure that the late Jazzie Collins, a noted trans activist, concurred with a few years back. Also, roughly 30 percent of homeless people in the Bay Area identify as LGBT.
Farley provided other statistics which illustrate how dire the situation is: 21 percent of transgender women have been incarcerated at some point in their lives, she said. In addition, 47 percent of trans women of color have been incarcerated and are six times likely to be unemployed due to discrimination.
As of May 23, Queens Cottages' fundraising page shows that $12,816 has been raised, which is much more than the campaign's original goal of $5,000.
"Our fundraising campaign went viral because housing is one of the key issues facing trans people in the Bay Area," Farley said. "The lack of safe and affordable housing is forcing the trans community onto the street and keeping our community from having the basic resources to reach economic stability."
Queens Cottage Shelter's campaign will continue through June 5. So if you are feeling generous, you can kick in some cash here. You can also find updates on the project at the organization's Facebook page.
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