Dear Reader,
On behalf of NLIHC’s board and staff, we would like to thank you for taking the time to read this edition of Tenant Talk: Taking Pride into Our Work. Over the last two decades, members of the LGBTQ+ community in the U.S. have achieved tremendous successes in securing their rights, including through the legalization of same-sex marriage. Even so, the community continues to face obstacles to equality, like the more than 80 new pieces of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation passed in 2023 alone. It is essential for tenant advocates everywhere to stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community, and particularly those members of the community who are disproportionately affected by discrimination, such as Black and Indigenous people and people of color. This issue of Tenant Talk focuses on the intersections of the fight for LGBTQ+ rights and housing advocacy by celebrating recent achievements, revealing new challenges, and offering policy recommendations.
Like other marginalized groups in the U.S., members of the LGBTQ+ community face unique barriers accessing affordable housing. Due to the additional stigma experienced by LGBTQ+ individuals, some community members are at higher risk of becoming homeless, as studies focusing on both LGBTQ+ youth and adults have shown. Certain groups – like transgender adults, bisexual women, and people who are also members of racial minorities – are at even greater risk of experiencing housing discrimination.
The Editorial Board hopes that you approach this edition of Tenant Talk with an open heart and a willingness to learn about a community whose members continue to experience extraordinary harms. In this edition, you will learn about the history of the LGBTQ+ movement, the ongoing advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights, and the various barriers faced by LGBTQ+ people trying to access safe and affordable housing. As always, readers will hear directly from individuals with lived experience of housing insecurity, including housing advocates who identify as LGBTQ+. Our goal in this issue of Tenant Talk is to educate readers about the importance of uplifting different communities, especially members of the LGBTQ+ community, as they navigate new challenges during an unprecedented era in our country’s history.
We hope that you find this edition of Tenant Talk useful as you continue the fight to guarantee housing justice for all renters.
In Solidarity,
The Editorial Board