On May 23, 2022, The Transgender Emergency Fund of MA will open the doors to the first Transgender Transitional Housing Program in New England. The home will house eight transgender and GNC/NB individuals that are currently experiencing homelessness for up to twelve months while providing supportive programming and counseling for all participants to help them live self sufficient lives upon completion of the program.
It is currently estimated that one in five transgender adults have experienced homelessness during their lifetime. Transgender and GNC/NB people experiencing homelessness are at increased risk of experiencing violence, adverse effects on mental health, substance use disorders, and infectious disease. Furthermore, transgender and GNC/NB people experiencing homelessness struggle to receive services from traditional housing programs and shelters due to stigma and discrimination from program staff and other guests and in program policies.
TEF’s Transitional Housing Program will include twenty four hour staff/volunteer support, guest bedrooms, connections to gender-affirming healthcare, and gender affirming programming and workshops on-site.This program is designed to help individuals receive housing as a first step in order to move forward with securing and maintaining employment, prioritizing physical/mental health, and developing financial and budgeting skills building toward the goal of moving to permanent housing.This program is made possible in part to a grant awarded through the Commonwealth’s Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Program.
Executive Director, Chastity Bowick, a former recipient of TEF services, says, “When I was homeless I would have never thought I’d see the day we would have a place for people like us. A place not only for shelter, but to be given the tools and resources needed to become and remain sustainable.”
The Transgender Emergency Fund of MA, founded in 2008, has worked for the past 14 years to provide essential, life saving services to transgender and GNC/NB communities across the Commonwealth. TEF’s mission is to ensure that all transgender and GNC/NB people have access to necessary resources, such as rental assistance, utility assistance, and nutrition to become and remain self-sufficient.