D.C. Opens First Shelter for Unhoused LGBTQ Community

This August, Washington, D.C. will open a 40-bed homeless shelter entirely dedicated to providing care for adult (25 years of age and older) members of the unhoused LGBTQ community. This will be the first of its kind in the city; the shelter is intended to offer care tailored toward helping queer people, who are more susceptible to violence in regular shelters.

According to a report by the DCist, around 7% of D.C. adults without homes are LGBTQ, with 18% of homeless LGBTQ adults also being unsheltered. Additionally, around 20% of the entire LGBTQ population in the shelter system report a history of domestic violence. This establishment is one of many expansions of homeless sheltering infrastructure, supervised by the sitting D.C. mayor, Mayor Muriel Bowser.

Bowser has made multiple active contributions to improving the lives of the homeless in the city, such as replacing the D.C. general shelter with smaller family shelters within each ward as well as allocating funds to renovate the 801 East Men’s Shelter.  This is one of many efforts Bowser will continue to make to address the rising and ever-expanding homeless crisis in her own city, truly setting an example for other city governments to do the same.

There are some doubts, however, for the security and safety of an entirely LGBTQ-centric homeless center given the previously stated statistics.

Transgender activist Earline Budd was present at the initial opening, expressing her concerns for more focus on security measures as well as a lack of sufficient bed space. As these concerns are being taken into account, executive director of The DC Center for the LGBT Community, Kimberly Bush, is optimistic now that there are 40 more beds than before for homeless queer adults.

While the first D.C. shelter for the LGBTQ homeless community is still in its infancy, it will subsequently serve as a tool to measure how a city at large can assist homeless people in an individually curated way.