Experiences of LGBTQ Adults Who Have Accessed Emergency Shelters in a Large Urban City in Canada

ABSTRACT

This study examines the experiences of adults who identify as LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) and who have accessed emergency shelters in an urban Canadian city. Twenty LGBTQ adults who were currently or formerly homeless participated in one qualitative interview. The interview protocol included questions on the participants’ experiences accessing emergency shelters, with a focus on interactions with other emergency shelter residents. Data was analyzed using an iterative coding process. The results demonstrated that participants engage in various identity management strategies and encounter both positive and negative interactions with other emergency shelter residents. The results are discussed in terms of strategies to improve emergency shelter policies to be more inclusive of LGBTQ adults.

KEYWORDS:

• LGBTQ
• homelessness
• homeless
• vulnerable housing

This study did not receive institutional funding

Declaration of interest statement

The authors do report any financial interest or benefit that has arisen from the direct applications of the research.

Notes

1. Two-Spirt is used by Indigenous people to identify a range of roles and identities which may span distinctions between gender, sex, and sexuality (Hunt, 2016).