A New Report Is Out

One of the questions we are always asked is how many trans people…

We were asked that when we were trying to pass the bill banning conversion therapy on minors, we were asked that when we were trying to pass the birth certificate bill, also the non-discrimination law and when we do training at homeless shelters.

Now we have somewhat of an idea of the numbers of trans people in shelters in Connecticut.

Every year, one night is set to count the number of homeless people in Connecticut; it is not perfect but it is a start. That count is called the “Point-in-Time” and one of the questions that they ask the those who are homeless is “Are you transgender?”

Anyone want to guess how many said yes to the question in the 2017 PIT?

2% and if you do the math out of 3,387 that were counted 2% is 68 trans people that are homeless in CT. They also found,

Twenty-three percent of youth also identified as LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual)

Again doing the math and the number of homeless LGBTQIA people is 779, so we are a definitely a small part of the homeless people in Connecticut but for those 68 homeless trans people the numbers are meaningless.

Some of the other findings of the report,

• TOTAL HOMELESS POPULATION LOWEST COUNTED IN CONNECTICUT: 3,387 total individuals counted, a 13% decrease from last year and a 24% decrease from 2007.
• CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS DROPS SIGNIFICANTLY: The number of chronically homeless individuals (experiencing long-term homelessness and living with disabilities) decreased 60% since 2014; down 11% since 2016.
• MOST CHRONICALLY HOMELESS ON THE PATH TO HOUSING: Nearly 60% of those counted as chronically homeless were in the process of securing permanent housing.
• UNSHELTERED COUNT DROPS SHARPLY: 415 people were unsheltered – a 38% decrease from last year.
• FEW VETERANS COUNTED AS HOMELESS: only 34 Veterans were identified in emergency shelter: a decrease of 24% since 2016; only 14 Veterans were unsheltered — a decrease of 67%. CT continues to house homeless veterans in about 90 days.
• NUMBER OF HOMELESS FAMILIES FALLING: 392 families were experiencing homelessness, a decrease of 13% from 2016.
• 4,396 YOUNG ADULTS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS:  4,396 young people under the age of 25 were experiencing homelessness or housing instability across Connecticut.

When I was going to grad school for my MSW we had to analyze a government policy and I chose the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) policy because that year they just added transgender to the subpopulation that are being counted.

A couple of the comments that I mentioned was one, that trans people might be reluctant to out themselves especially to the government, and many trans people do not identity as trans and they are just as likely to identify as male or female.

I have to wonder is we and the rest of the LGBT community will continue to be counted by the Trump administration or will it become like the census with no questions about anything LGBT?