Transgender Resident Faced Discrimination, Assault In City Homeless Shelters: Lawsuit

A transgender former shelter resident is suing New York saying city shelters failed to place her in a shelter for women or transgender people putting her at exposure of assault on multiple occasions Advocates say she is not alone A men s homeless shelter in the Tremont neighborhood in The Bronx The lawsuit alleges the plaintiff was placed there despite identifying herself as a transgender woman Adi Talwar City Limits Content warning This story includes descriptions of sexual assault If you need encouragement contact RAINN s hotline Jane Doe moved from Florida to New York City in because of its reputation as a safe city for transgender people But when she lost her home in the summer of and entered a homeless shelter the city repeatedly failed to place her in a shelter that conformed with her gender identity a lawsuit from the nonprofit Housing Works and Brooklyn Legal Services alleges During a two and a half year stay across three city shelters Doe says shelter staff ignored her requests to be placed in a room with women or in a bed specifically for transgender people Shelter staff repeatedly placed Doe in rooms with men her lawyers say putting her at exposure of violence and predation Doe was sexually assaulted multiple times by other shelter residents during that period the lawsuit filed in late October says In the face of a national backlash against trans folks with the right using transgender folks as a whipping post to whip up a base of prejudice among its base it was so essential to be in a city that held itself out as a haven declared Doe s lawyer Armen Merjian of Housing Works It is all the more disappointing and angering to know that in the face of that she has gone through such trans discrimination in our system function d u ac var s d createElement 'script' s type 'text javascript' s src 'https a omappapi com app js api min js' s async true s dataset user u s dataset campaign ac d getElementsByTagName 'head' appendChild s document 'u kmqsczew vunxutxmd' The ordeal deeply wounded and hurt Doe who is a Black transgender woman She received permission from a Supreme Court of New York Judge to proceed anonymously in her scenario to protect her identity and her safety Her name is also withheld in this story The City Law Department declined to comment on the suit In a message a spokesperson for the Department of Homeless Services DHS reported While we cannot comment on the specifics of ongoing litigation we will conduct a thorough inquiry to verify the facts and should we identify any violation of agency protocol or staff misconduct we will hold any and all bad actors accountable The suit alleges that employees of DHS and three city-contracted shelter operators failed to place her in a safe secure housing accommodation because she is a transgender woman in violation of city human rights laws that protect gender identity and disability Doe says in the suit that despite informing multiple staff across shelters about her identity requesting multiple transfers and complaining to high-level staff at the city s Department of Social Services she was continually misgendered and mistreated The suit says she was misinformed about her rights to a gender-consistent bed placed in facilities that endangered her safety and retaliated against her for being transgender jeopardizing her ability to secure permanent housing For everyone that comes forward to me that s a homeless person suffering something or a person who is trans and Black and poor and discriminated against they re consistently the tip of the iceberg noted Merjian A beacon for transgender people New York City has in specific avenues been on the cutting edge of policymaking to protect transgender people But realizing those promises hasn t invariably come easy Transgender people in the United States experience disproportionate violence compared to cisgender people In the American Clinical Association recognized it as an epidemic They are also twice as likely to experience homelessness according to the Trevor Project While there is limited material on the prevalence of homelessness and violence on transgender people by race what researchers do know suggests that Black transgender women like Doe are at the greatest peril of predation To see her be able to articulate the dignity that was stripped from her the safety and the ability to safely come into her identity and in a city that she expected safety from It s heartbreaking reported Julian Castronovo a supervising attorney at Brooklyn Legal Services who works in the LGBTQ and HIV advocacy unit and also represents Doe In New York City s DHS put out a first of its kind plan for serving LGBTQ New Yorkers asking providers to assign people to the intake shelters that match their gender identity Then in the city reached a settlement in Lopez v NYC Department of Homeless Services a landmark event that argued the city failed to protect the safety of transgender people in shelters The settlement required the city to establish shelter beds to specifically serve trans nonbinary and gender nonconforming TGNC people DHS had designated a minimum of units for gender nonconforming clients in five shelters as of earlier this year In part due to the Lopez settlement New York then opened the nation s first publicly funded homeless shelter for trans people at Ace s Place earlier this year with beds specifically set aside for transgender and gender non-conforming clients bringing the total to In a press release championing the announcement the department wrote the city stands as a beacon of safety dignity and empowerment for TGNC group members navigating housing insecurity In a report to City Limits a DHS spokesperson added We recognize that a safe and affirming conditions is absolutely critical to the wellbeing and stability of vulnerable New Yorkers looking to get back on their feet in shelter which is why the agency has taken central approaches to strengthen systemwide protections for LGBTQI individuals while ensuring trauma-informed operation delivery across our setup of not-for-profit providers that operate shelters DHS doesn t description an exact number of transgender people it serves in its shelters but reports indicate they served LGBTQ people in its shelters from April through June of this year with specialty beds available for LGBTQ people In addition the agency says it has implemented comprehensive training for DHS and provider staff on serving transgender and gender non-conforming clients That includes annual reminders and updates to their policies and systems like changing forms material systems and records to match a client s preferred name and gender identity During that period where the city was rolling out new policies and planning trans-specific shelters Doe says workers at DHS intake centers and individual shelters routinely discriminated against her in direct violation of those policies and civil rights and disability rights law Higher ups who knew about it did not hold those workers accountable the suit alleges There are policies on the books that say that what happened to Ms Doe shouldn t happen mentioned Castronovo DHS s program on placing transgender-identifying individuals entitles them to a placement consistent with their gender identity expedited placement upon request a waitlist for TGNC beds rights to transfer for safety and other reasonable accommodations like beds in single occupancy rooms smaller rooms or rooms with locking bathroom doors as available But ensuring those policies make it into practice is another matter advocates say New York has made crucial progress but leadership on paper doesn t dependably translate to lived safety for Trans people revealed Sean Ebony Coleman the founder of Destination The next day which operates Ace s Place in a written comment to City Limits The experiences described by several Trans individuals living in New York City reflect what our population has been saying for years discrimination misgendering and unsafe conditions remain far too common Not trans enough When Doe lost her apartment in summer she did what various New Yorkers do when they need help she called Relatively new to New York in recent times out as trans and now losing her home Doe was particularly vulnerable It was scary because I don t have any family here so I had to enter the shelter system she disclosed in a written response to questions from City Limits DHS intake facilities for single adults are gender-segregated Men go to a shelter on th street in Manhattan Women go to one of two intake facilities in the Bronx and Brooklyn When Doe communicated the dispatcher that she was a transgender woman Doe says she was reported to go to the men s intake shelter Doe says the dispatcher recounted her that in order to be able to go to a women s intake shelter she had to be on Hormone Replacement Therapy for at least one year Hormone Replacement Therapy or HRT is a medicine that chosen transgender people undergo to replace or suppress the hormones that their body makes One need not be on HRT to be transgender Particular cannot get HRT because of its high cost and systemic barricades to its use in a large number of states As instructed Doe went to the men s intake shelter There she declared that she repeated that she identifies as a transgender woman during her intake interview and requested a placement in a bed specifically for transgender people or in a women s shelter The intake interviewer announced that she needed to be on HRT for at least one year She was communicated that she s not trans enough She necessities to be more trans by going on hormones and then she was placed in a men s shelter reported Castronovo DHS noted that it makes appropriate placements based on the client s gender identity and also considers special accommodations clients need in making placements The agency declined to comment on the specific circumstances of Doe s placement citing the pending litigation There is to our understanding no such requirement explained Merjian of the idea that people must be on HRT in order to secure certain shelter placements We can only imagine that our client could not have been the only person at several different locations in the homeless system to be so informed DHS endorsed that being on HRT is not and has never been a requirement The agency declared it relies solely on self-reported gender identity to make placements Doe was not able to begin HRT until because she lacked access to a provider the lawsuit states It argues the denial of Doe s gender identity during placement exposed her to danger of assault and constitutes differential medicine a violation of DHS transgender strategy and discrimination under the law Violence against transgender people is two and a half times higher than against cisgender people in the United States according to Everytown for Gun Safety That act of coming out to the citizens is incredibly emotionally vulnerable but it also incites violence declared Castronovo Sexual assault in shelters Doe s lawsuit describes multiple horrific assaults callous shelter staff and insufficient response from higher-ups at DHS across two-plus years in shelter You don t know what s going to happen to you on a day-to-day basis Doe advised City Limits in written responses through her attorneys After intake in August Doe was placed at the NAICA East Tremont Shelter a congregate men s shelter in the Bronx She slept in a room with approximately men She made multiple requests to staff for a transfer to a women s shelter or a specialized bed for transgender people according to the lawsuit In each instance Ms Doe s DHS Occurrence manager informed her that there were no available TGNC Beds and ignored Ms Doe s request to be moved to a women s shelter the complaint reads To shower at East Tremont residents have to use one large room with several showerheads According to Doe one day while she was showering alone a man approached her from behind and grabbed her Another night Doe awoke to another resident standing next to her bed masturbating the lawsuit alleges In both cases she announced the incidents to shelter staff and requested a transfer When she did eventually transfer to the Second Avenue Men s Shelter in Brooklyn in December she was placed in a congregate setting with approximately male roommates Again she asserted her transgender identity to shelter staff and demanded for a transfer Again she was reported that she needed to be on HRT for a year the suit alleges The response from the shelter workers was often to minimize putting the responsibility back on Ms Doe for escalation and kind of look the other way announced Castronovo While at The Second Avenue Men s Shelter and later at a Long Island City shelter called Pam s Place Doe and an advocate she was working with at a homeless services nonprofit sent emails to the director of LGBTQI affairs at DHS and submitted official complaints to DHS ombudsman s office fearing for her safety That exhausted the list of escalations available to Doe according to DHS know your rights brochure In that correspondence Doe s advocate described repeated assaults requested transfers complained about Doe being roomed with cisgender men and mentioned shelter staff were unresponsive to her pleas DHS did not comment on the discrimination and assaults alleged by the lawsuit The agency also declined to comment on the complaints and escalations surrounding Doe s development saying it is working to verify the facts as part of the litigation The agency has various channels for clients to safely review and escalate concerns a spokesperson mentioned On both occasions Doe and her advocate s outreach was not met with appropriate action by DHS the suit alleges DHS procedures entitles shelter residents to request transfers when they are under threat of harm such as gender-based harassment Clients with disabilities like Doe who is diagnosed with gender dysphoria are also entitled to additional reasonable accommodations when a facility cannot meet their requirements For transgender clients that could include being in rooms with people of their own gender identity single or smaller rooms or using bathrooms and showers that lock Shelter staff the lawsuit alleges repeatedly denied Doe those considerations and failed to mediate with her in violation of laws to protect people with disabilities navigating community systems In addition staff are required to review serious incidents like sexual assaults Those incidents require follow up by shelter supervisors Staff are trained on event reporting once a year according to DHS agenda Doe s advocate did successfully reach DHS director of LGBTQI affairs Brent Woodfield who put in a transfer request according to the suit But it was almost a year later in September before Doe left the Second Avenue Men s Shelter This time she was given a TGNC placement at Pam s Place a women s shelter in Queens But her troubles continued her lawyers mentioned When they eventually placed her in a shelter for transgender women they nonetheless once again in small rooms placed cisgender men in the room astonishingly announced Merjian Leading not surprisingly to yet more assault At Pam s Place despite being in a bed set aside for transgender individuals Doe alleges that she was sexually assaulted by roommates whom she identified as cisgender men The lawsuit alleges several assaults by Doe s roommates that while she stayed there they inserted their penis into the sleeping Doe s mouth masturbated in the room while looking at her and grabbed her head and pushed it towards their genitals DHS disclosed that Pam s Place is a women s shelter in a converted hotel with nine beds set aside for TGNC people They reported that the agency relies on self-reported identity when making placements and does not place self-identified cisgender men in TGNC beds Neighborhood Association for Inter-Cultural Affairs Samaritan Dayton Village and Acacia Organization Housing the operators of the three shelters Doe stayed in declined to comment referring requests to DHS The plaintiff was eventually given a TGNC placement at a women s shelter in Queens according to the lawsuit But her troubles continued her lawyers revealed Adi Talwar Getting out New York City s shelter system can be challenging to deal with You have to be in by a certain time and out of the shelter by a certain time and you can t return to the shelter until later If you work overnights it s very tough You have to get permission to secure passes to return and sleep and it s a intricate process Doe announced Transgender people in shelter face increased walls and sometimes retaliation when they try to assert their rights advocates for transgender people in shelter reported City Limits Their clients are often so desperate to get out of shelter that they tolerate daily insults and discrimination from shelter staff and fellow residents th e advocates stated It is rare if our clients are not misgendered by staff and other participants I mean that is just par for the class mentioned Castronovo DHS transgender plan specifically prohibits using discriminatory language and misgendering transgender clients DHS says that it trains all shelter staff on the policies but declined to comment on the specific accusations in the incident Castronovo says that violence against transgender people in shelter is so normalized that his clients don t try to fight it they just put their head down and try to find housing We ask Have you experienced violence by other shelter residents They say Yeah of class that s why I m trying to get out ' Castronovo added The best chance to get out is with a housing voucher and the preponderance common voucher is the City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement CityFHEPS which serves a record -plus households according to DSS Doe s torturous stay in the shelter system was extended by the frustrating process of trying to secure housing with a CityFHEPS voucher she and her attorneys say City Limits has previously published on the difficulty of finding an apartment with a voucher due to a tight housing field discrimination against voucher holders and delays in processing voucher applications I ascertained multiple apartments and shelter staff needed to complete paperwork but they repeatedly made simple mistakes or took too long or did not respond for weeks and as a conclusion I lost apartments disclosed Doe Application processing times the city s Human Support Administration says have improved in modern months At a hearing before City Council s Oversight committee last week authorities announced the application processing time is now down to days from a high of days in At this time people in DHS shelters have voucher shopping letters that allow them to search for housing according to bureaucrats people in total were living in DHS shelters in September according to City Limits shelter tracker Transgender voucher holders face additional discrimination because of run-of-the-mill transphobia from landlords Working searching for housing and rooming with strangers all at once took its toll on Doe At that time in residents had to be in shelter for days in order to receive the voucher shopping letter that enables them to start applying for apartments a rule that complicated transfers for residents like Doe who need reasonable accommodations There are a large number of rules to follow don t lose your bed keep all appointments with your counselor and when I urged to be transferred to a women s shelter or a TGNC shelter for my safety I was repeatedly narrated that this would restart the -day waiting period to receive the voucher Doe noted Mayor Eric Adams removed the day waiting period for CityFHEPS vouchers in mid- Navigating shelter as a transgender person advocates say takes remarkable persistence and a consistent declaring of one s rights Being more vulnerable to assault they are more likely to require accommodations transfers and assistance and more time from circumstance managers who are already stretched thin What we often see is that when folks advocate for themselves in these shelters staff get annoyed at transgender residents because they re too much work they re a burden mentioned Castronovo Providers at the shelters Doe lived did not respond to the specific accusations Tip of the iceberg DHS says that it is leading the way in the country on transgender policies in shelter and that it is committed to addressing any violation of agency approach across the system But Doe s lawyers allege that the discrimination against her was not an isolated happening It rings hollow here given the number of people and the number of shelters and the number of times my client was informed illegal things explained Merjian Merjian commented that recounting traumatic experiences over and over again which pursuing a legal remedy requires can be triggering Doe cares very deeply about her region She has talked constantly to other people in the system and has let us know in no uncertain terms that this is a systemic matter that there are several others that have had terrifying and horribly frustrating experiences as trans individuals in the New York City homeless system he noted Advocates advised City Limits that specific of that just means making sure DHS lives up to its policies There is absolutely more work to do The city must invest in mandatory ongoing Trans-specific training led by Trans experts enforce clear accountability measures for discriminatory behavior expand access to Trans-affirming community-based housing models and ensure that policies protecting Trans people are in fact implemented at the staff level Destination The next day s Coleman mentioned in a message With a limited but growing supply of beds for transgender-identifying people that means in a large number of a great number of cases single rooms private showers disclosed Castronovo Ace s Place the city s dedicated TGNC shelter has single-stalled toilets and showers and bathrooms And in general DHS has made efforts to move towards individual rather than congregate settings as it builds out a arrangement of safe haven shelters that include individual rooms DHS says it s committed to building on the work it s already done to increase protections and guidance for transgender New Yorkers The Department of Homeless Services opened the nation s first publicly funded shelter for transgender individuals at a time when their rights are roundly under attack reflecting our firm commitment to protecting and supporting marginalized communities a spokesperson for the agency stated in a comment Doe moved into an apartment on Feb with her CityFHEPS voucher after two and a half years in the shelter system She s come forward above all else to sound the alarm and in the hopes that we can rectify this and correct all that is wrong with the current system explained Merjian To reach the reporter behind this story contact Patrick citylimits org To reach the editor contact Jeanmarie citylimits org Want to republish this story Find City Limits reprint framework here The post Transgender Resident Faced Discrimination Assault In City Homeless Shelters Lawsuit appeared first on City Limits