Portland drag performers raise funds at ‘Drag the House Up!'

The Lavender Courtyard is an income-restricted, three-story complex designed to serve LGBTQ seniors by providing safe, inclusive and affordable housing. It has 53 units and serves seniors ages 62 and up who pay affordable rents based on income as determined by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development guidelines, which caps rents at 30% of their monthly adjusted income.

Tiny home complexes are emerging as solutions to combat homelessness throughout the country, offering a cheap and efficient way to provide shelter amidst the national housing crisis. In some cases, living in a tiny home community serves as a stepping stone to help locals achieve permanent housing.

Several community organizations and municipalities like the Office of Transgender Initiatives (OTI) have come together to decrease homelessness rates among the transgender population. OTI formed a Trans Advisory Committee which focused on budget and policy advocacy based on input from the transgender community to address homelessness and partnered with efforts like the Transgender District. All in all, these combined efforts have decreased transgender homelessness by 15% since 2019.

Mutual Housing California opened Lavender Courtyard, a 53-unit affordable housing complex, with the goal of providing a welcoming and safe place for LGBTQ+ seniors who often face discrimination. Approximately half of the tenants are LGBTQ+, and residents say the project has given them a place to find community and feel safe being themselves.

Lavender Courtyard is a three-story apartment complex that serves LGBTQ+ seniors who pay affordable rents based on income, which caps rents at 30% of their monthly-adjusted income. With the housing crisis running rampant, the Lavender Courtyard provides seniors with affordable housing and a space where they can safely live comfortably and authentically.

Genderdoc-M (GDM) partners with a local lawyer to offer legal support to members of the LGBTQ+ community in an effort to promote human rights and continue to work toward a more inclusive society. Every year, about 40 people seek legal advice from GDM on matters ranging from workplace discrimination to physical abuse.

The Built For Zero program works to end homelessness by partnering with community organizations aimed at helping people experiencing homelessness — specifically veterans — access safe, affordable housing. The Detroit branch is one of the 105 cities nationwide participating in the program. Since joining in 2015, the city has reduced veteran homelessness by about 60%.

Inside Safe addresses the significant homelessness crisis in the city by traveling to encampments and offering people hotel rooms to stay in where they are connected with permanent housing and other necessary resources, like mental health care. Hotel rooms provide people with a safe space to heal and rest while working with a case worker to find housing. The initiative has so far moved 1,373 people into hotel rooms and 77 of them have moved into permanent housing.

Haven for Hope is a large, 22-acre, 1,600-person shelter that serves 85% of the city’s homeless population. It’s an all-inclusive space that provides a place to stay, as well as access to services like medical and dental care, counseling services, mental health care, childcare, job and housing assistance.

Fortify Life takes a holistic approach to addressing homelessness and also provides emergency and long-term stays in a renovated motel for people experiencing homelessness. Long-term guests participate in a micropayment program that teaches them how to budget and become financially self-sufficient. Since 2021, Fortify Life has helped 179 families with emergency or transitional housing.