There are aspects about being homeless that are really sad, desperately difficult, and extremely stressful. When being swept from a public place the other day, by the police. Feelings of past harassment came rushing back. Like the time I’ve written about before, in Elizabeth, Colorado. Where the officer tried as hard as he could to get Child Protective Services to take our children away, since we “didn’t deserve them”, when we were having to start our lives over.
Recently, we attempted to assist a homeless transgender couple that is currently housed in a leaky shed, outside a trailer park, in southern California. They are both disabled, one I know has Autism and struggles with PTSD. A fellow staff member at the lifeline reached out to Katherine about helping to get resources for them locally. Since I knew of a person in that region that runs a non-profit for transgender outreach, Katherine suggested I contact them. Once the call was put out for help, hygiene items, sleeping bags, a tent, and other necessities for survival were collected and ready to deliver. The advocate I was networking with went above and beyond to help, and even found them a place to stay for 2-3 days, to rest and recuperate from the street. Unfortunately, due to some time constraints, personality clashes, ridicule, and intimidation the donated items never found their way to the desperate couple. The next plan was to have an acquaintance of the couple to meet the advocate and retrieve the much needed gifts. However, before the details could be ironed out, the advocate gave away the items. Instances such as these take place every day. This couple is alone, afraid, without a home, and in need of a place to start over for similar reasons as us. They are transgender and not finding acceptance. When there are folks in need, I can’t see hounding them, degrading them, making hurtful statements about them, or pressuring them to take resources they don’t want. I do believe in getting them the needs they express. I do believe in providing a safe space for them. Even if only through messaging, they can feel free to express their selves. I’ve learned, rather literally, how incredibly hurtful people can be. I read an article about a Yugoslavian artist that decided to become an art project herself. She was dressed plainly, with a note that explained people could do whatever they willed to her for 6 hours and she wouldn’t resist, even as far as to stop rape or murder. She had set up a table nearby with 72 items, among them were a rose, a knife, a razor blade, things to attach, and many others. So many people reacted to her art project. She was put into different positions, things were tied and attached to her. She was stripped of her clothing, she was groped, sexually assaulted, pricked with the thorns of the rose, sliced with the razor blade, even forced to put a gun to herself. After the 6 hours were up, she began walking among the folks that had interacted with her during the presentation time, she noticed none of them wanted to make eye-contact. They didn’t want to be held accountable for their horrible actions. This speaks as to how people will act when their “victim” is helpless, or doesn’t fight back. Like homeless people. Like homeless transgender people especially. Twenty-seven percent of transgender people are living in poverty, similar to us. We, trans folks are far more likely to be disowned, assaulted, isolated, homeless, raped, victims of abuse, neglected, targeted for bullying and even murdered. Unfortunately, and especially transgender people of color. They are the most targeted individuals singled out for oppression, harassment, taunting, rape, violence, and murder. I have some really great contacts, acquaintances, and friends that are actively engaged in non-profits, intersectional events, lobbying for equal rights, and creating mass amounts of inspiration. They have truly helped me to navigate through coming out as transgender, being my authentic self, and learning to adapt in adverse situations to educate those that are ignorant of the importance of intersectionality. Their leadership has impacted my life, heart, and decisions. Their bravery to stand up against bigoted practices, uninformed minds, and xeno/homo/transphobic beliefs has encouraged me to stand face to face with people and converse with them about being transgender, about being homeless, about being survivors living with post-traumatic stress disorder. We are strong, we are mighty, we are fighting to be free! I’m thankful for the dozen or so folks that have really shown me what activism means. It’s a daily fight and everyday life. Activism encompasses every aspect of our lives. Public trips to the restroom have yielded questions about why my children call me “daddy”. Visits to the doctor we’ve even run into problematic behavior and questions, to which we’ve had to take the chance to educate the educated. Education is very critical this day in age. We are coming to understand much more about the human mind and experience. We are learning vasts amounts of information in technology, medical advancements, and archaeological discoveries. NASA is gathering more and more research findings from devices such as: satellites, the space station, and the Mars Rover. We as a human species are evolving, progressing, and discovering all the time. I read somewhere that we are having as many discoveries in ten years as what used to take one hundred years, if that’s true, it’s rather amazing. Life all around us is changing slightly, constantly, gradually. From the growing grass, to the flowing waters of the river, nothing stays the same long. We that were given an extra heaping helping of compassion and a overwhelmingly strong desire to bring about change, have to spread some of that around. Mainly because there are ideologies, beliefs, religions, etc, spreading hate, division, and judgment. We must bring about a global change, starting in our small communities, we have to reach out our hands to those around us that are different, oppressed, struggling. I heard a radio advertisement recently stating that a child that believes in themselves will essentially do better in life. Well, that logic can be applied to all humans, including adults. Any person that is ridiculed, neglected, abused, isolated, judged, and/or targeted, will have a harder time believing in themselves. So, when we go out into the world we will see people of differing races, genders, sexual orientations, ability level, and body size/shape. These are things that are out of our control. You, nor I have control over what race we have been born, nor what gender. My children can’t help that one is going to be taller than the other, because it’s their genetics that choose that, not them or I. A transgender person that is struggling with their newly recognized or newly admitted gender identity need people backing their decision to come out. They need people being compassionate toward them, being understanding that this is for them to be content with their selves. The best thing we can do for any person, from any background, is to be understanding, compassionate, non-judgmental, and accepting. The next best thing is to educate those that aren’t behaving in these ways; bullying, harassment, violence, these are wrong and we should all be working to put an end to these crippling factors in our schools, our communities, and our lives. Kindness and empathy can go a long way in having a positive impact on one’s life. Persons of color, the homeless demographic, the transgender community, and even members of religious groups are often the recipients of varying forms of oppression, violence and hatred. Working against these factors, can help to improve the lives of not only the people around you that fit into these categories, but also can be an encouragement for others to follow suit. We need strong, courageous people standing up to counter these hateful tactics. We need people doing the right thing, more often. We need you!
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Authors:James and Katherine are a transgender couple raising two kids. They were southerners when coming to understand themselves as trans. Ultimately it lead to a nearly three year road trip to find home. Now they are re-housed and still focused on outreach in the transgender community! Archives
October 2020
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