Conference on homelessness focuses on Indigenous and LGBTQ struggles

The Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness wrapped up their 3 day conference in Hamilton today. It was their largest conference so far, with 1,300 delegates from across the country attending.

The conference wrapped up with an Indigenous sunrise ceremony to remember those who have died on the streets from homelessness.

One of the main focal points this year was addressing the unique struggles that both Indigenous and LGBTQ face in finding shelter.

Deidre Pike, a long time advocate for women’s and LGBTQ rights, spoke about how hard it is for some people to get into a shelter.

“We don’t acknowledge it enough and when a life is lost; one life, is too much and we know that there’s many more and they’re not really acknowledged.”

Pike says one of things that’s been discussed in depth is the notion of a gender lens. Pike says women experiencing homelessness die at an average age of 39 which is less than half the average life span of a Canadian woman, which is at 84.

“People who are trans are over-represented in homelessness as well because it’s hard to get a job when there’s discrimination and workplace issues.”

Cole Gately, the education coordinator for Core Collaborative Learning in Hamilton, says this bias spills over into shelters as well.

“When you have a trans woman who is experiencing homelessness, that’s needing to go to a shelter or flee abuse, where is she going go to? Is she going to go to a women’s shelter? That’s fine but there’ll be issues in the women’s shelter for her. The same with trans men, they wouldn’t be safe in men’s shelters if they’re known to be trans.”

Gately also says more needs to be done in working toward a societal acceptance of gender neutrality.