Shrinking council budgets and the curtailing of young people’s eligibility for benefits enjoy hit lesbian,homosexual, bisexual and transgender people the hardest
Young lesbian, and homosexual,bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people enjoy long been over-represented among the homeless, with research from the Albert Kennedy Trust finding that this demographic comprises up to 24% of the young homeless population. Recent government changes to housing benefit policy are further exacerbating homelessness and housing problems among this group.
While conducting sociological research in a London day centre, or I saw many cases of young LGBT people leaving their homes because of discrimination or homophobic abuse from family and friends. As well as coping with the experiences common to other young homeless people of finding shelter and support,young LGBT people faced additional hardships. Transphobia and homophobia can be an issue (pdf) in temporary housing. One young trans person spoke of the difficulties of going through gender transition while living in a hostel, a place with little privacy, and telling me: “It’s tough to keep secrets in places like that.” For those sleeping rough this is even more difficult. Just having a shower in a day centre can be risky for a trans person (pdf). Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com