Homelessness Impacts LGBTQ+ Community

Dear Friends

June is Pride month, a celebration honoring the 1969 Stonewall Riots and raising awareness to achieving equal justice and opportunity for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) communities in the U.S. The month is spent recognizing the impact of LGBTQ+ people on history locally, nationally and internationally. While there are many success stories in the LGBTQ+ community, there are still many who face discrimination which can and does impact housing, employment and even access to healthcare. 

A 2020 study by the Williams Institute, a leading research center on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy at UCLA School of Law found that homelessness and hunger are hitting the LGBTQ+ community at higher rates than others. Here’s a summary of the findings in the study, “Homelessness Among LGBT Adults in the US”, published in May 2020.

• 8% of transgender adults experienced homelessness in the past year

• 6% of African American sexual minorities experienced recent housing instability

• 17% of sexual minority adults have experienced homelessness in their lives compared to 6%

    of cisgender straight people

• 71% of sexual minorities experienced homelessness for the first time as an adult

• 20% of sexual minorities experienced homelessness before age 18

• Nearly 27% of LGBTQ people experienced food insecurity in the past year

• 31% of LBT women experienced food insecurity

• 21% of GBT men experienced food insecurity

• 30% of LGBT adults 18-34 experience hunger

At CHHOP we support the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 25 which states that “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”

No matter what their background we believe that everyone is entitled to live with dignity, in a safe secure home and with food security. We thank all of you for your donations to support our work at CHHOP to alleviate hunger and homelessness.

With warmest regards,

Cynthia B. Knox

Cynthia B. Knox

CEO, CHHOP