NU Pride

Invisible Men: FTMs and Homelessness

“Noting an urgent need, Toronto’s 519 Community Centre partnered with stakeholders and formed The FTM Safer Shelter Project. This community-based research project explored and documented issues of homelessness and shelter access affecting FTMs in the Greater Toronto Area with the aim to improve access to safe shelter facilities for FTMs.

…Most FTMs who were homeless actively avoided the shelter system, choosing instead to sleep outside, couch surf, use substandard housing or the drop-in services of shelters without actually staying in them. These were all seen as preferable options to staying in a men’s shelter because of real fears of violence, and were also preferable to using a woman’s shelter due to a fear that their male identity and personal dignity would be undermined. In both situations, FTMs witnessed and/or experienced policies and practices that were degrading to them.

“…I don’t know where I would go if I was homeless. I don’t really fit. I feel totally screwed.” – FTM interviewee

(You can find the 98-page report at the link). The resulting report, released in 2008, is an important contribution to the growing body of knowledge regarding equitable access to services for transgender people.”

From the article, “Invisible Men: FTMs and Homelessness”