2SLGBTQ+ youth in N.S. overrepresented in unhoused population, say outreach workers

When Rae Paul first started as housing co-ordinator with the Youth Project about a year ago, he had no clue how many people in the 2SLGBTQ+ community would need his help. 

In only 10 months, Paul said he's spoken to over 35 queer and transgender people experiencing homelessness in the Halifax area, and he's only been able to help find stable housing for five or six of them. 

"I wish it was as easy as, you come to me, you need housing, I have a place for you to live," said Paul. 

He works with young people in the 2SLGBTQ+ community between the ages of 16 and 30. He said many of his clients have been rejected or even thrown out by their families because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. 

"At the end of the day, what I'm seeing is a fundamental lack of attention toward queer and trans folks when they talk about their experiences," said Paul. "Almost every single person that I've worked with has experienced some level of transphobia or homophobia."

The issue is not unique to Halifax. 

Reports have shown that 25 to 40 per cent of homeless youth in Canada identify as 2SLGBTQ+. 

In Yarmouth, N.S., young people experiencing homelessness can turn to SHYFT House, which offers temporary housing and services to youth 16 to 24. 

Shanna Grant is the outreach worker at SHYFT. She said she also sees a disproportionate number of 2SLGBTQ+ youth coming through the organization.

Like Paul, Grant pointed to familial rejection and discrimination as key reasons these youth end up homeless. 

"A lot of them come to us pretty defeated," she said. 

Grant said being in a rural community where "everybody knows everybody" can also worsen the level of discrimination. 

At the other end of the province, Madonna Doucette, director of the Youth Project's Cape Breton branch, said the situation is no different. 

Doucette is more often than not unable to help find solutions for youth in need of housing, apart from referring them to the Abbey Ridge supportive living program in Glace Bay, which she says is always at capacity.