This month, Rainbow House celebrated its grand opening. As Monongalia County’s first LGBTQ+ shelter, it’s a welcome addition to our community.
Historically, emergency — and even long-term — shelters have not been LGBTQ+ friendly. Sometimes because the shelter was hosted by a religious group that does not accept LGBTQ+ people or lifestyles. Sometimes because the rules governing the shelter were designed for heterosexual, gender-conforming individuals and didn’t have the flexibility to comfortably accommodate LGBTQ+ people. And sometimes because the other people in the shelter did not make it a welcoming or safe place for LGBTQ+ people to be.
As much as things have changed, and gay and lesbian people have become more generally accepted, sometimes traditional shelters still feel inaccessible to LGBTQ+ individuals, especially those who are transgender or gender-nonconforming.
That’s what makes Rainbow House so important.
A 2020 survey from the UCLA School of Law Williams Institute found that 17% of “sexual minority adults” reported experiencing homelessness at some point in their life; 8% of transgender adults experienced homelessness in the past year compared to 3% of cisgender (gender-conforming) and genderqueer (gender-nonconforming) sexual minority adults and only 1% of straight, cisgender adults.
According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, up to 40% of homeless youth identify as being LGBTQ+ — a quarter of those reported being forced out of their homes solely because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. In general, LGBTQ+ kids are more likely to experience homelessness than their peers. And of those who do find themselves on the street, LGBTQ+ kids are more likely to be sexually victimized than those who are straight.
It’s hard enough to be without stable housing and everything that goes with it; it’s even harder for LGBTQ+ people. We’re glad there will be a place here that can offer them a variety of LGBTQ+ friendly programs and resources and the sense of security and acceptance they might struggle to find elsewhere.
