Oppose Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill HB 1011
Why is access to a bathroom a workers’ rights and racial justice issue?
The House Bill 1011 removes gender identity and gender expression from the 2006 Washington State Civil Rights bill. It prohibits transgender and gender non-conforming (GN) individuals from using private or public bathrooms, restrooms, toilets, showers, locker rooms or saunas that are consistent with their gender identity.This is an economic justice issue. If employees are unable to use the restroom that matches their gender identity they will not feel safe using the restroom while they work. This bill has the potential to prohibit trans and gender non-conforming individuals from holding a full-time job. Everyone should have the ability to provide a roof over their head, buy food and clothing and pay for other basic needs.
Transgender and GNC individuals are 4 times more likely to have a salary of $10,000 or less than the general population. Overall, trans and GNC are twice as likely to be unemployed and trans and GNC people of color are 4 times as likely to be unemployed. Twenty-six percent of trans and GNC individuals reported losing their job because of their gender identity and 50% reported being harassed at work because of their gender identity. (2011 Injustice At Every Turn report) We should reverse these economic inequities not add on more obstacles and challenges to trans and GNC workers.
This is a racial justice issue. According to the report Injustice At Every Turn, 53% of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals experience harassment in public accommodations and people of color experience harassment and violence disproportionately. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence programs reported that 72% of LGBTQ hate crimes against LGBTQ people were against trans women, and 90% of those crimes were targeted against trans women of color. Restricting access to bathrooms that are consistent with one's gender identity will disproportionately impact transgender and gender non-conforming people of color.
The civil rights bill that included protections around sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression was passed in 2006. There have not been any significant incidents or complaints in the last 10 years.
Republicans sponsoring this bill – Taylor, Shea, McCaslin, Young, Klippert, Walsh, Haler, Short, Manweller, Hargrove, Pike, Holy, Rodne, Buys
Source of Income Discrimination
Source of Income Discrimination for housing disproportionately impacts seniors, people living with disabilities, LGBTQ and people of color. Landlords can and do refuse tenants housing if their income includes Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8), SSI, HOPWA (Housing Opportunities for Person with AIDS) and other state funded rental support. It means longer housing searches as well as an inability to find affordable housing.- Two –Thirds of Housing Choice Voucher recipients are people of color (Facing Race Report) and low-income LGBTQ people of color are even more marginalized in their housing choices.
- LGBTQ Seniors generating less wealth than their heterosexual counterparts means LGBTQ seniors are disproportionately affected by a lack of affordable housing.
- LGBTQ individuals are disproportionately low-income - Kaiser Family Foundation in 2013 found that 1 in 3 LGBTQ individuals are 400% of the federal poverty level and the Williams Institute found that LGBTQ individuals experience higher rates of poverty than their heterosexual counter parts.
- LGBTQ Individuals have higher rates of disabilities - LGBTQ individuals have higher rates of chronic illness, of HIV/AIDS, depression and anxiety according to the 2013 Kaiser Family Foundation report.
- According to Allyship’s 2015 LGBTQ Safety Survey over 1100 respondents identified a lack of affordable housing directly impacts their safety.
- Transgender people have over 4 times the national rate of HIV with transgender people of color experiencing disproportionately higher than their white counter parts. (Injustice At Every Turn Report)
- In Seattle the LGBTQ population that was most unstably housed were people living with disabilities, transgender, gender non-conforming and women. (Allyship’s 2015 LGBTQ Safety Survey)
Medicaid Supportive Housing Services Benefit
A Medicaid Supportive Housing Services Benefit will allow housing providers to bill Medicaid for supportive services provided to eligible residents. This Benefit would help individuals with severe and chronic health conditions get off the streets and into a healthy home.As stated earlier, LGBTQ communities have higher rates of chronic illness and mental health conditions than the general population. In fact, according to Allyship’s 2015 survey LGBTQ individuals living with disabilities are more likely to be unstably housed.
Supportive housing is an affordable home combined with comprehensive primary and behavioral health services. Supportive housing is a research-proven model that reduces utilization of costly emergency, inpatient, and crisis services and while improving health outcomes. Affordable housing with resident services is not supportive housing. Rather, supportive housing provides a more specialized level of care.
Supportive housing serves people who need services in order to succeed in housing and who need housing in order to succeed in services. People living in supportive housing usually have a long history of homelessness and often face persistent obstacles to keeping their home, such as a serious mental health illness, chemical dependency, physical disability, or chronic medical condition.
This Policy Goal Advances Equity
According to United States Conference of Mayors 2006 Hunger and Homelessness Survey, racial and ethnic minorities are overrepresented in chronically homeless* populations.
•39% are non-Hispanic whites (compared to 76% of the general population)
•42% are African Americans (compared to 11% of the general population)
•13% are Hispanic (compared to 9% of the general population)
•4% are Native American (compared to 1% of the general population)
In addition, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), at least a quarter to a third of those on the streets have a mental illness or substance abuse disorder. A Medicaid Supportive Housing Services Benefit could play a significant role in providing more permanent supportive housing for vulnerable populations across the state.
* "Chronic homelessness" refers to people who have a disability and have been homeless for a year or longer or have experienced at least four episodes of homelessness in the last three years.
Supplemental Legislative Priorities:
Document Recording Fees
Support funding for LGBTQ Youth Homelessness and homeless services for everyoneDocument recording fees are the major funding source for all state and local homelessness services. About forty percent of homeless youth are LGBTQ.
The funds from document recording fees are generated when real estate related documents are filed, such as, when a homebuyer pays $58 to file their paperwork with the county they purchased their home in. That modest filing fee generates funds for critical resources and services such as domestic violence shelters, youth and young adult shelters, outreach services, short- and long-term rental assistance, move-in assistance, Permanent Supportive Housing services and more.
The fees have been adjusted over time, but have not kept pace with rising rents, inflation, or the needs of at-risk communities.
Additionally, the legislature has added sunsets to these fees - and 62.5% ($70 million) of Washington’s homelessness funding will vanish in 2019 because of those sunsets. The dramatic cliff in funding for community resources will be devastating for LGBTQ low-income families and LGBTQ people in need, and will disproportionately impact LGBTQ communities of color. The opportunity gap will widen, and access to safe and healthy homes will be farther out of reach.
The legislature should eliminate the sunset on the document recording fees, and increase the fees to keep pace with rents and cost of living.
Housing Trust Fund
The Housing Trust Fund will utilize the capital budget to build healthy communities by investing in affordable homes. We are asking legislators to invest $200 million from the Biennial Capital Budget in the Housing Trust Fund. Across Washington State 5,700 new affordable homes will be built and rent will remain affordable for 40 years.Our state has historically evened the field by funding affordable homes across the state through the capital budget. Local governments and housing and service organizations can use these state capital investments to build and preserve homes providing stability and safety for LGBTQ and all seniors, homeless families, homeless youth, veterans, people with mental illness and disabilities, farmworkers, and more.
Racial Impact Statement -
Federal, state, and local policies over time have led to devastating racial disparities, preventing opportunities to safe, healthy, affordable homes. African Americans make up a little more than
7% of Seattle’s population. But that demographic is tripled for the homeless population. The
statistics are worse nationwide, as African Americans make up roughly 13% of the population,
but 38% of the homeless population (including African American LGBTQ homeless youth).
In addition, 30.5% of LGBTQ POC participated in Allyship’s Seattle LGBTQ Safety survey and are struggling financially disproportionately than their white counter parts. Forty-two percent of the POC participants identified as transgender or gender non-conforming and experience more safety issues than their white counterparts.
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LGBTQ Allyship, 1105 23rd Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122/ LGBTQAllyship.org or , (206) 428-1986