Proposed Housing Project For Transsexual and Transgender People
November, 1998
For my day job I work for a Housing Association. I also know from experience in the FTM Network and PFC that housing for trans people can sometimes be a nightmare. Especially for people prior to, during and for a period after “changing over” when people can become homeless as relationships break down, or need to move to another town, or experience harassment and even violence from neighbours or local kids. Also it may be difficult to obtain accommodation from prejudiced landlords in the private sector, and even (sad to say) some local authorities. I am therefore trying to put two and two together and establish a housing project for trans people.
My employer (Manchester Methodist HA) runs an extremely successful range of “supported housing” projects, and it struck me that a model for housing trans people could easily be devised based on those we already use for e.g. people with AIDS, or young people who haven’t lived on their own before.
We would provide a small number of tenancies (these could be permanent if desired), using housing from our own or from other local housing association stock; the accommodation would have to be in a “safe” area, where harassment was unlikely and “dispersed” (i.e. dotted around) so that you wouldn’t get lots of trans people all in one street!
A team of specialist housing support staff, who had been trained in the issues, would offer “floating support” for a period following the start of the tenancy, e.g. for 6 months or a year, depending on need. Once someone was OK, the support would “float off” to the next new tenant, leaving the first person to manage on their own. There could be flexibility for giving some support at a future date if it was needed for anything. Support would vary according to what a tenant needed (and some people might not need much at all, once moved into a nice house with polite neighbours), but typically could include help with sorting out benefits and other practical details, registering with local services including health services, making links with the local community, and help in accessing education or work.
If things did go wrong we would intervene as landlords if possible, but would also have the flexibility to move people out if necessary. People who were using the accommodation as a safe place to transition could also have the option to move to another property after the process was over, making a fresh start where no-one knows they are trans. I have in principle the support of my Chief Executive, and we believe we would be able to obtain the necessary grant from the Housing Corporation to fund the support services (thus ensuring that tenants only paid the same rent as everyone else) and to publicise the model nationally, encouraging other housing associations to provide a similar facility in other areas.
However I need two things:
- Feedback on whether this is a good idea or not! What do you think? Is it a good model? Is there a need? Would you have been grateful for this kind of facility at any point in your own life, would you move in tomorrow given a chance? Or am I making a mountain out of a small molehill of unlucky people? Please write and tell me.
- If it is a good idea, I need some “evidence” that there really is a need, that could be presented to the Housing Corporation, and for that matter to my own Board of Management - i.e. Roughly how many people would be likely to need this kind of accommodation each year? What problems do trans people have in “mainstream” accommodation? What kind of accommodation and/or support would be better? Should we be thinking only of trans people in transition, or are there other trans people who would benefit? I would be very grateful for any feedback. Either from personal experience, or if anyone knows of any research done on this topic, or maybe people who have been in networks could quote (anonymously) the experiences of others? Please help!
Many thanks.
Alex Whinnom, Nov 1998