Homeless and Transgender
One woman's story of brutality, discrimination and living on the streets. By Erin Weaver
Posted by Natalie Hope McDonald on 11/1/2011 at 10:12AM
http://blogs.phillymag.com/gphilly/2011/11/01/homeless-transgender/January 2011. As I sat in an informational meeting for a student-run homeless shelter, I would soon become one of 20 student directors for a new project. We would be starting from scratch to open an entirely student-run and student-funded homeless shelter. It opens its doors for the first time this month.
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And as we began our process of interviewing them for the census, asking about their medical history and living situations, I met someone named Jesse, who immediately told me that he preferred to be called "she."
Jesse told me about her experiences during the past two weeks. It began when she caught a cold, feeling under the weather even though it was May and the weather was starting to become more favorable. Jesse said she usually avoids homeless shelters because of insensitivity and hate for transgender people. That day, however, she was desperate. And when she showed up at the shelter, she was verbally attacked by other homeless people. After a while, their abuse turned physical. Some of the workers at the shelter even joined in, and finally threw Jesse out on the street.
