How You Can Support LGBT+ Homeless People
May 1, 2020French people call homeless people someone ‘without-a-shelter’ or ‘without-fixed-home’ while British people, always more pragmatic, prefer to call a spade a spade, facing up to the truth so no one can look the other way. Homeless people are people without a home.
This statement accepted; faulty governments can start working on a solution to make sure no one has to sleep outside. Politics must also ensure homeless centres are safe enough for people to reach out to them. Minorities are particularly vulnerable to violence and may prefer the freeze of the street, to the coldness of a knife blade. For this reasons, LGBTQ+ dedicated homeless centres are vital.
According to the US National Homeless centre:
- 40% of the homeless youth served by agencies identify as LGBTQ+
- 43% of clients served by drop-in centres identified as LGBTQ+
- 30% of street outreach clients identified as LGBTQ+
- 30% of clients utilising housing programs identified as LGBTQ+
While our first world countries’ government figures out how to effectively spend our taxes to take people out of the street, there are concrete actions you can take:
Advocate & Educate
This statement by Mother Theresa: “We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty”, resonates particularly strong for the members of LGBTQ+ community that too often got kicked out of their home and friend circles simply for daring to find understanding in the ears of their relatives.
Going to schools to teach kids and parents empathy and educate about LGBTQ+ issues is a great way to drive acceptance, fight bullying and giving LGBTQ+ pupils hope that something great is waiting for them. Hundreds of charities around the world are waiting for you to sign up and advocate for our community to future generations. You can also advocate for LGBTQ+ homeless people to your political party and involve the media in the fight to end this inhuman situation.
Contribute
You can find a non-exhaustive list of charities here to which you can make a donation. While you can give money, book, computer, donations do not have to be a material ones, you can offer a job, a warm place to stayfor a night (or more) or volunteer and give of your time to help local charities welcome LGBTQ+ homeless people, give classes at local centres or answer the ultra-busy helplines. The impact of coronavirus has been felt with more than just our physical health, and as we try to understand the full ramifications it will have on our mental health, we are seeing that suicide rates within the LGBTQ+ community are sadly sky rocketing. If you are a student, a house spouse, a retiree or simply have extra time and are willing to help others, please make sure to reach out to get involved one charity. Remember this quote by Bernard Kelvin Clive “To someone you may be their only sunlight; so, don't dim the light. Keep shinning.”
Empathise and reach out and listen
Mental health issues and drug abuse are a pest to our community, LGBTQ+ people that have lost contact with their families can only count on themselves and their courage to bring their life upward.
You could be the hand that someone desperately needs to get up and rise as happy human being. Be mindful of your language and do not use pejorative words to describe conditions that are already painful enough. Jacques Nteka Bokolo sensibly said “the life of a homeless person is too long to be beautiful”. Do not think about what people will do with your money, just give when you can and think it will help the receivers find a piece of happiness no matter where they find it. When you received some money on Christmas and spent it on a night out, did your grandparents forbade you to spend it anywhere?
Volunteers represent a smiling face, a listening ear and a precious help, be all of these to homeless people. Give warmth and humanity simply by stopping by, ask people if they are ok and listen to their story.
Government Action
It’s our governments responsibility to create policies that protect vulnerable people, that is especially true for protecting the homeless, yet is not always the case in reality. The UK is currently in the midst of a housing crisis, with an estimated 8.4 million people living in unaffordable housing. The impact coronavirus has had on job losses is likely to increase this even more and we need to ensure the government is prepared to tackle this.
Some governments around the world have banned forced evictions; an increasing number of people can't pay their expenses and rent. Pedro Bogo, director of "Proyecto Ambar", an NGO helping transgender people in Spain, explains how there is an increasing number of people asking for help and how desperate their new situation is. However, this charity has 150 cases of people that cannot even meet their basic needs, and so they have launched this campaign looking for resources and help.
There is also currently an act called The Vagrancy Act in the UK, that makes it a crime to sleep on the streets or beg in England and Wales. This is an outdated law for 1824 and prevents homeless people from getting the support they need. Crisis are currently campaigning to change this and have made it easy to add your voice to the issue.
Unfortunately governments - at the rare exceptions of the Nordics and Switzerland - care much more about a way to hide poverty and our homeless people, by spending money in building repugnant stratagems to make sure people cannot sleep in benches, in front of shops or by closing parks at night, than they do finding solutions to treat homeless people with respect and dignity we all deserve. During COVID-19 governments have been innovative and found solutions to transform hotels and public places into hospitals, they may one day look at similar options for homeless people and use the empty building available everywhere. Do not wait for them to make a move, be the missing link humanity desperately needs.