TY - JOUR
T1 - “Housing Insecurity Seems to Almost Go Hand in Hand with Being Trans”
T2 - Housing Stress among Transgender and Gender Non-conforming Individuals in New Orleans
AU - Glick, Jennifer L.
AU - Lopez, Alex
AU - Pollock, Miranda
AU - Theall, Katherine P.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank all of the study participants who shared their time and stories with us, as well as the LGBT Community Center of New Orleans and BreakOUT! for participating in various stages of the project from research question development to participant engagement and providing space for the interviews and data analysis. We express deep appreciation to Maxwell Ciardullo, Emily Rey, and Wesley Ware for reviewing multiple drafts of the manuscript and providing indispensable insight into the local context. We also thank Kendra Davis, who helped with data transcription and Steph de Wolfe who assisted with preliminary coding. This study was supported by grants from the National Institutes on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) (P60AA009803), and the Drug Dependence Epidemiology Training Program, NIH/NIDA (T32DA007292).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, The New York Academy of Medicine.
PY - 2019/10/1
Y1 - 2019/10/1
N2 - Housing is an important social determinant of physical and mental health. Transgender and gender non-conforming individuals (T/GNCI) face a unique constellation of discrimination and compromised social services, putting them at risk for housing insecurity, homelessness, and its associated public health concerns. This study explores housing insecurity among T/GNCI in New Orleans, LA, where the infrastructural landscape is marked by an underinvestment in housing stock and disaster capitalism. In-depth interviews were conducted with T/GNCI (n = 17) living in New Orleans, identified through purposive sampling. Semi-structured guides were used to elicit personal stories and peer accounts of insecure housing experiences and coping strategies. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Data was coded, sorted, and analyzed for key themes using NVIVO 11. Respondents discussed an array of circumstances that contribute to housing insecurity, including intersectional stigma and discrimination coupled with gentrification and a changing housing landscape in the city. Housing was intricately intertwined with employment and other structural issues; vulnerability in one realm was closely tied to insecurity in the others. Social support and queer family structures emerged as a key source of resilience, coping, and survival. The study supports an increase of resources for T/GNC housing access and interventions that address the cyclical discrimination, housing, and employment issues this population faces with a consideration of the historical and current structural barriers impeding their access to safe, stable, long-term housing.
AB - Housing is an important social determinant of physical and mental health. Transgender and gender non-conforming individuals (T/GNCI) face a unique constellation of discrimination and compromised social services, putting them at risk for housing insecurity, homelessness, and its associated public health concerns. This study explores housing insecurity among T/GNCI in New Orleans, LA, where the infrastructural landscape is marked by an underinvestment in housing stock and disaster capitalism. In-depth interviews were conducted with T/GNCI (n = 17) living in New Orleans, identified through purposive sampling. Semi-structured guides were used to elicit personal stories and peer accounts of insecure housing experiences and coping strategies. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Data was coded, sorted, and analyzed for key themes using NVIVO 11. Respondents discussed an array of circumstances that contribute to housing insecurity, including intersectional stigma and discrimination coupled with gentrification and a changing housing landscape in the city. Housing was intricately intertwined with employment and other structural issues; vulnerability in one realm was closely tied to insecurity in the others. Social support and queer family structures emerged as a key source of resilience, coping, and survival. The study supports an increase of resources for T/GNC housing access and interventions that address the cyclical discrimination, housing, and employment issues this population faces with a consideration of the historical and current structural barriers impeding their access to safe, stable, long-term housing.
KW - Gender non-conforming
KW - Homelessness
KW - Housing Insecurity
KW - New Orleans, LA
KW - Transgender
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85073941263&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11524-019-00384-y
DO - 10.1007/s11524-019-00384-y
M3 - Article
C2 - 31529193
AN - SCOPUS:85073941263
SN - 1099-3460
VL - 96
SP - 751
EP - 759
JO - Journal of Urban Health
JF - Journal of Urban Health
IS - 5
ER -