One of the first homeless shelters I worked at had this as an interview question:
Where would you put a transgender person: the men's side or the women's side of the shelter? All I could do was laugh and say I had no idea. What surprised me more than the interview question was the number of times I actually had to face that question in my work over the years.
Now the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force have published a guidebook for shelter operators called "Transitioning Our Shelters: A Guide to Making Homeless Shelters Safe for Transgender People." This is a useful resource for anyone working to end homelessness.
This past summer the United Church of Christ adopted two important statements related to transgender people: one reaffirmed the UCC's stance as a welcoming church and the other called for the church and larger community to address issues of violence against transgender people. Read more.
