1. Welcome to Day 2 of the
19th Annual Statewide
Conference on Homelessness
This workshop is:
Integrating the
Transgender Community
into Homeless Services
Chris Fike & Megan Salisbury
Arizona State University

2. Do you know what
LGBTQ stands for?
Yes Don’t Know No

3. Does your agency
have unisex
bathrooms for clients?
Yes Don’t Know No

4. Do you know
your agency’s
anti-discrimination
policy for clients?
Yes Don’t Know No

5. Do you know the
difference between
sex and gender?
Yes Don’t Know No

6. Do you know
what the term
“cisgender” means?
Yes Don’t Know No

7. Workshop Agenda
Information Presentation Discussion/Dialogue
• Vocabulary & Terminology • Moving Forward
• National Transgender • Concerns & Specific Scenarios
Discrimination Survey • Method for Creating Change
• Rationale • Additional Questions
• Client Perceptions • Wrap-Up
• Services Needed
• Community Resources

8. Universal Vocabulary
• LGBTQ: collectively refers to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
queer community; some alternatives include intersex individuals (I)
and allies (A)
• Queer: an umbrella term for sexual and gender minorities that do
not identify as heterosexual
• Sex: the biological distinction between male and female
• Gender: the characteristics and expectations associated with
biological sex
• Gender expression: the way people express their gender
• Intersex: applied to individuals whose biological sex cannot be
classified as clearly male or female
• SOFFA: Significant Others, Friends, Families, and Allies

9. Transgender-Specific Vocabulary
• Transsexualism/Transgender: a condition in which a person
experiences a discontinuity between their assigned sex and what
they feel their core gender is
• Gender nonconformity: extent to which a person’s gender identity,
role, or expression, differs from cultural norms
• Gender dysphoria: the discomfort or distress that is caused by a
discrepancy between a person’s gender and sex
• Transphobia: the illogical fear, hatred or anger toward persons who
are transgender or who appear to be transgender
• Cisgender: refers to someone’s gender identity/expression matching
their biological sex
• Cisprivilege: refers to the privileged position in society of those
individuals who are identified as cisgender

10. National Transgender Discrimination Survey: An Overview
Conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality & the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force in 2011, with 6,450 participants
from all 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam
Shelter Statistics: Bias due to being trans
•20% reported homelessness
•23% reported attempting to access shelter services
• 29% denied shelter access
• 55% accessing shelter reported harassment
• 25% accessing shelter reported physical assault
• 22% accessing shelter reported sexual assault
•Trans women more likely to be denied shelter (34%) than
trans men (20%)

11. National Transgender Discrimination Survey: An Overview
Conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality & the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force in 2011, with 6,450 participants
from all 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam
Trans Community Demographics
• Respondents live in extreme poverty
•4x as likely to have annual household income of less than $10,000
•41% reported attempting suicide (v. 1.6% general population)
• 2x as likely to experience unemployment
• 4x as likely to experience unemployment for trans people of color
• 19% refused medical care due to their trans status
• 57% experienced significant family rejection
• 63% experienced a serious act of discrimination due to bias
Job loss, eviction, loss of relationship, incarceration, & more.

12. What Does it Mean to Transition?
•Transitioning genders is a psychological, social, legal,
and medical process.
• Psychological: personal acceptance, coming out, therapy
• Social: asking to be called a different name, using
different pronouns, wearing different clothing
• Legal: changing driver’s license, name, updating records
to reflect these changes (school, credit card,
employment history, etc…)
• Medical: hormonal treatment, surgery, voice therapy

13. Additional Transitioning Barriers
• Not all who identify as trans choose sex reassignment
surgery
• Some do not wish to physically transition with hormones and/or
surgery
• Many lack the resources to do so
• Surgeries alone can run between $5,000-$20,000+
• Few resources available to assist those who want to physically
transition
• Phoenix has one adult & two endocrinologists willing to give hormones
• Significance of transition process to providers
• Do not assume all trans individuals have the same needs
• Significant AHCCCS restrictions for trans individuals

14. Why This Is Important Now
• Population is increasing (nationally & locally)
• Population of trans people in the United States increased from 1%
(2000) to 3% (2010), with an estimated 4.5% in Arizona (2009)
• Many trans individuals do not seek shelter or disclose their
trans identity due to fear of discrimination
• Trans individuals seeking services may not know where to
go or where is safe, often leading to increased risk
• Underground economy activities, including prostitution, drug
abuse, hustling
• Agencies need trans inclusiveness for client safety
• Policies, protocol, practices, education, awareness & outreach

15. Client Needs
• Knowledgeable providers as allies and advocates
• “It's incredibly difficult to find a social worker that is familiar with
trans problems and trying to get you through the system.”
• Awareness of how to navigate social service system
• Challenging stereotypes and prejudice within the system
• Safe support
• Agency staff meeting clients where they are
• Providers aware of transitioning process
• Help with obtaining legal documents
• More knowledge of available resources
• Outreach to educate about what safe resources are available
• Community awareness

16. Social Service Provider Needs
• Leadership
• Need for demonstrated engagement on trans-related issues
• Gap in leadership on this issue
• Education & training
• Need to increase awareness on trans-related issues among
providers and administrators
• Need to increase training opportunities available
• Knowledge of available resources
• Need to increase awareness of local and federal resources to
support trans-identified individuals and agencies supporting
trans-identified individuals

17. Standards of Care
Developed by the World Professional Association of Transgender Health
• Focus on transitioning, not psychiatric diagnosis
• Provides clinical guidance so trans individuals can achieve
lasting personal comfort to maximize their overall health
• May also be used by individuals, their families, and social
institutions to understand how they can assist with
promoting optimal health for members of this diverse
population
Available online at
http://wpath.org/publications_standards.cfm

18. Moving Forward
• Trans-inclusive polices and protocols
• Eliminating barriers to services & increasing accessibility
• Trans-inclusive practices
• Eliminating discrimination and harassment within agency settings
• Ongoing educational and training opportunities for
provider staff and agency program participants
• Increasing understanding and acceptance
• Outreach into the trans community
• Increasing awareness of available resources
• Additional resources for trans-identified individuals
• Increasing opportunities for entering supportive services

19. Scenarios
• Potential program participant identifies as trans
• A staff member or another program participant “discovers”
gender identity status
• Other program participants (and/or their children) express
concerns or have questions about trans clients
• Including issues related to shared bathroom space, for example

20. Method for Creating Change
• Strategy Chart Development
• Problem Identification
• Goals
• Organizational Considerations
• Constituents, Allies, Opponents
• Targets
• Tactics

21. “Mock Homeless Service Provider”
Strategy Chart Activity
• Interactively, we will create a Strategy Chart to map
out a plan for transitioning the “Mock Homeless
Service Provider” to becoming more inclusive of
transgender individuals

22. Arizona Resources
• Central Arizona Gender Alliance
http://www.cagaphoenix.org
Offers support, education, relevant news and a community calendar
•One Voice Community Center
(602)712-0111 | http://1vcc.org
Provide educational, social and wellness programs in Phoenix area
•This is HOW
(623) 414-5245 | http://thisishow.org
Outreach to trans, recovery house, has extensive trans resource guide
•Stonewall Institute
(602) 535-6468 | http://www.stonewallinstitute.com
Outpatient drug and alcohol treatment center providing a full array of services
•Wingspan
(520) 624-1779 | http://wingspan.org
Promotes the freedom, equality, safety, and well being of all LGBT people

23. National Resources
• Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network
http://www.glsen.org | (212) 727-0135
Strives to assure all LGBT individuals in schools are safe
• Human Rights Campaign
http://www.hrc.org | (202) 628-4160
Works to achieve civil rights for the LGBT community
• National Center for Transgender Equality
http://transequality.org | (202) 903-0112
Devoted to ending discrimination and violence against trans
• National Gay & Lesbian Task Force
http://www.thetaskforce.org | (202) 393-5177
Helps affirm a sense of community for the LGBT population
• Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians & Gays (PFLAG)
http://pflag.org | (202) 467-8180
Parents that aim to celebrate diversity in their LGBT families

24. Wrap-Up
• What you should have learned:
• Trans-related vocabulary and terminology
• Consequences of transphobia
• Reasons why trans individuals need to be able to access safe
homeless services
• Recommendations for transitioning your agency
• Method of planning for change/transition
Additional Questions/Concerns?

25. Contact Information
Chris Fike
dcfike@asu.edu
@chrisfike on Twitter
Megan Salisbury
mesalisb@asu.edu
@citychild on Twitter