Ethan Lowe (Legal Aid Society): Affirming shelter access and staff training
Ethan Lowe of the Legal Aid Society recommends expanding affirming shelter capacity across all boroughs, increasing awareness of existing TGNC placement rights, and expanding DSS LGBTQ Affairs capacity, noting clients still face problems even in designated affirming shelters due to insufficient staff training.
Good afternoon, members of the committee.
My name is Ethan Lowe, pronouns he, him, and I'm a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society's LGBTQ Law and Policy Unit.
Based on Legal Aid's work in representing New Yorkers experiencing housing instability, we offer several recommendations to improve access to safe and affirming shelter.
Shelter is often the first step towards stable housing, but many LGBTQ individuals, especially transgender, gender nonconforming, non-binary New Yorkers, avoid or leave shelters because they do not feel safe.
We commend the city for opening ACE's Place, the first transitional housing program for TGNC and B.I.
New Yorkers.
However, Legal Aid continues to hear from TGNC and B.I.
Clients who struggle to access affirming placements.
The city should continue expanding affirming shelter capacity across all boroughs so that every TGNC and BI New Yorkers can access safer shelter when they need it.
We also urge the city to increase awareness of existing rights and resources.
Many TGNC and BI individuals do not know that they can request placements in affirming shelters and TGNC units or request accommodations related to their gender identity and medical needs.
We routinely hear from clients who remain in unsafe placements simply because they are unaware that safer options existed.
The city shelters should have clear multilingual notices of
rights and have more proactive outreach at intake and throughout a client's shelter stay.
Some clients hesitate to disclose their identities without understanding its purpose and knowing about the placements available.
Finally, the city should expand the capacity of DSS LGBTQ affairs and ongoing comprehensive LGBTQ training for shelter staff.
Legal Aid continues to receive reports from LGBTQ clients, especially TGNC and BI clients, who experience problems even in DHS shelters designated as affirming because some staff lack sufficient understanding of TGNC and BI identities and needs.
Additional and improved training would help ensure LGBTQ New Yorkers can safely remain connected to shelter and housing services.
DSS LGBTQ Affairs has been a valuable resource for LGBTQ clients and DHS shelters, but its limited capacity delays responses to urgent needs.
We recommend dedicating resources to expanding DSS LGBTQ Affairs and creating additional LGBTQ liaison positions throughout the shelter system.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.