Congressman Dan Goldman Fights Anti-LGBTQ+ Discrimination in Federal Housing

Nearly 50 Percent of LGBTQIA+ Older Adults Experience Discrimination When Seeking HUD-Funded Senior Housing 

LGBTQIA+ Seniors More Likely to Face Housing Insecurity and Homelessness 

Read the Letter Here

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) joined Representative Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) in sending a letter to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marica Fudge urging the Department to take action against housing discrimination faced by LGBTQIA+ seniors. The members urge HUD to require funding recipients to engage with LGBTQ+ community organizations as part of housing planning and to prioritize organizations supporting LGBTQ+ seniors in distributing housing funds. 

“The Biden Administration has already done incredible work to protect vulnerable populations from housing discrimination, however, our LGBTQ+ seniors are too often overlooked or forgotten,” Congressman Dan Goldman said. “Seniors, who are often surviving on a fixed income, are significantly more vulnerable to housing insecurity and poverty and the LGBTQ+ community still faces higher levels of discrimination. As we work to expand access to affordable housing across the city and country, it is incredibly important that we are ensuring LGBTQ+ advocates and community organizations have a seat at the table in ensuring government-funded senior housing is appropriately serving the LGBTQIA+ community.” 

According to SAGE, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQIA+ older adults, 35 percent of intersex LGBTQ+ individuals, their partners, or their children rely on government-subsidized housing. Additionally, nearly half of older lesbian, gay, and bisexual couples experience discrimination when seeking senior housing and more than 30 percent of LGBT seniors fear having to hide their sexuality or gender identity to avoid mistreatment in senior housing. LGBTQIA+ seniors are also more likely than their cisgender heterosexual counterparts to face housing insecurity and homelessness. 

As a member of the House Equality Caucus, Congressman Dan Goldman is committed to uplifting New York’s LGBTQ+ communities. Last week, Congressman Goldman hosted a forum on the state of LGBTQ+ Health in New York and across the country at the NYC Health + Hospitals Judson Center in lower Manhattan. 

Read the letter here or below: 

The Honorable Marcia L. Fudge 

Secretary

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 451 7th Street, SW 

Washington, DC 20410 

Dear Secretary Fudge,

As Members who believe in equitable housing and healthcare policies for all communities, including the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual/aromantic (LGBTQIA+) and senior communities, we write to bring your attention to the mistreatment and discrimination that many LGBTQIA+ seniors face in senior housing and urge you to take action to protect this community.

According to SAGE, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQIA+ older adults, nearly half of older lesbian, gay, and bisexual couples experience discrimination when seeking senior housing.1 Around 35% of intersex LGBTQ+ individuals, their partners, or their children rely on government-subsidized housing.2 Further, more than 30% of LGBT seniors fear having to hide their sexuality or gender identity in order to avoid mistreatment in senior housing.3 We commend the steps that the Department of Housing and Urban Development has already taken to support vulnerable populations. However, it is urgent we act to ensure that everyone has access to safe and supportive housing, and not forget about the needs of communities too often overlooked. This is particularly important for LGBTQIA+ seniors who disproportionally experience homelessness or housing insecurity, and particularly urgent for trans and gender non-conforming individuals, and Black, Indigenous, and other elders of color who are part of the LGBTQIA+ older adult community. 

We encourage you to consider requiring HUD funding recipient organizations to collect feedback from LGBTQIA+ community groups as part of the housing planning and building process, as well as after housing is constructed. Community engagement and outreach components already in place in local jurisdictions should be leveraged to capture the input, concerns, and needs of underserved population, including the LGBTQIA+ community. We also urge the agency to prioritize organizations supporting LGBTQIA+ seniors, and organizations that have committed to working with the LGBTQIA+ community through inclusive practices and outreach, in the distribution of HUD housing funds. In addition, it is crucial that all organizations receiving funds from HUD provide LGBTQIA+ seniors with culturally competent support. To this end, it is important that recipient organizations are required to properly train their employees or volunteers in implicit and explicit bias, as well as how to provide culturally competent and trauma-informed support.

Indeed, due to several factors, LGBTQIA+ seniors are more likely than their cisgender heterosexual counterparts to face housing insecurity and homelessness.4 And amongst overt experiences of discrimination, we also know that LGBTQIA+ elders face disproportionate rates of poverty, higher levels of social isolation, and barriers to safe and affirming medical care and shelter. Older intersex adults often face particular difficulty in receiving care, in part due to the prevalence of irreversible non-consensual medical interventions on intersex minors, and can struggle with a lack of legal recognition and protection. These are all factors that contribute to deep vulnerability and heightened risk of exploitation or violence, often missed in data collection around housing insecurity. We urge you to ensure that the HUD Working Group on LGBTQI+ Homelessness and Housing Equity, established by President Biden’s June 15th, 2022, Executive Order, includes and prioritizes the needs of LGBTQIA+ seniors.

We applaud the efforts HUD has already taken to protect the LGBTQIA+ community from housing inequity, and encourage HUD to explicitly clarify that the protections against sex discrimination in the Fair Housing Act include protections against discrimination on the basis of sex characteristics in addition to sexual orientation and gender identity. We urge you to continue this work while paying special attention to the plight of LGBTQIA+ seniors.

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