October 6, 2020
Commissioners add their support for transgender people having equitable access to homeless shelters and transitional housing services
With potential changes to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Equal Access Rule, transgender people are at risk of losing critical access to homeless shelters and transitional housing services.
Statement from the Board of County Commissioners
As a follow-up to the Daily Camera article Nonprofits, shelters join in commitment to safe housing for transgender community (Oct. 4, 2020), we lend our support to the transgender community and local non-profit partners in ensuring equitable and unhindered access to critical housing and homeless shelter resources for all transgender people:
The Boulder County Commissioners support transgender people and stand behind our local non-profits as they take a stance against the discriminatory U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development modification to the 2016 portion of the Equal Access Rule allowing for the denial of services based on gender identity.
Unfortunately, this HUD rule could result in any organization that receives federal funding (via Emergency Solutions Granting) having the right to deny access to essential and lifesaving services, including housing. Luckily, here in Boulder County, our sheltering providers are continuing to ensure equitable access to essential housing services, reducing homelessness in our community.
We are gratified that our non-profit partners are standing strong and ensuring equitable access to these essential services for members of our community who identify as transgender. As the research has shown, transgender people experience higher levels of homelessness and their gender identity should never be used to deny shelter access, thus limiting their access to housing resources that our community has committed to.
We are beyond proud of our providers and stand in solidarity with their unyielding commitment to equity and equitable access to ending homelessness in our community.
--Boulder County Board of County Commissioners
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