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{"source_url": "https://www.thestar.com", "url": "https://www.thestar.com/calgary/2020/01/01/its-got-to-stop-meet-the-calgary-lgbtq-advocate-working-to-end-homophobia-in-homeless-shelters.html", "title": "\u2018It\u2019s got to stop\u2019: Meet the Calgary LGBTQ advocate working to end homophobia in homeless shelters", "top_image": "https://images.thestar.com/t46zeiDkWUMQekaE1Lio89obpgs=/1200x800/smart/filters:cb(1577892888232)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/calgary/2020/01/01/its-got-to-stop-meet-the-calgary-lgbtq-advocate-working-to-end-homophobia-in-homeless-shelters/hilary_chapple.jpg", "meta_img": "https://images.thestar.com/t46zeiDkWUMQekaE1Lio89obpgs=/1200x800/smart/filters:cb(1577892888232)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/calgary/2020/01/01/its-got-to-stop-meet-the-calgary-lgbtq-advocate-working-to-end-homophobia-in-homeless-shelters/hilary_chapple.jpg", "images": ["https://images.thestar.com/7TGKyoDbtEypPXHWeEgnvg87byo=/1086x724/smart/filters:cb(1577892888232)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/calgary/2020/01/01/its-got-to-stop-meet-the-calgary-lgbtq-advocate-working-to-end-homophobia-in-homeless-shelters/hilary_chapple.jpg", "https://www.thestar.com/assets/svg/app-store.svg", "https://www.thestar.com/assets/svg/logo-thestar.svg", "https://images.thestar.com/2hWEwuK7Wjm_GpsISe8eWCmeSaE=/100x100/smart/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/columnist_logos/Saba_Rosa_logo2019.JPG", "https://www.thestar.com/assets/svg/google-play.svg", "https://images.thestar.com/t46zeiDkWUMQekaE1Lio89obpgs=/1200x800/smart/filters:cb(1577892888232)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/calgary/2020/01/01/its-got-to-stop-meet-the-calgary-lgbtq-advocate-working-to-end-homophobia-in-homeless-shelters/hilary_chapple.jpg", "https://t.co/i/adsct?txn_id=nuz9l&p_id=Twitter&tw_sale_amount=0&tw_order_quantity=0", "https://b.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=3005674&cv=2.0&cj=1", "https://analytics.twitter.com/i/adsct?txn_id=nuz9l&p_id=Twitter&tw_sale_amount=0&tw_order_quantity=0", "https://www.thestar.com/assets/svg/brandmark-thestar.svg"], "movies": [], "text": "CALGARY\u2014Hilary Chapple came out in 1984. She became an activist in the early 1990s and has been advocating for LGBTQ rights in Alberta ever since.\n\nWhen Chapple became homeless in 2012, she said being LGBTQ made it even more difficult. Even at a shelter, a place where many find community beyond just a warm bed, Chapple experienced discrimination.\n\nShe wanted to advocate for better training and help shelters and agencies be more inclusive, but found there wasn\u2019t much research on the LGBTQ homeless experience. So she took matters into her own hands.\n\nThough not an academic herself, Chapple developed a survey for LGBTQ people in Calgary with previous or current experience of homelessness. She got 23 respondents with diverse backgrounds \u2014 from ages 18 to 82, transgender, non-binary, lesbian, gay and everything in between.\n\nDespite the respondents\u2019 differences, overwhelmingly Chapple got the same answer: they had all experienced discrimination, they all had mental health issues, and most said they didn\u2019t feel inclusive services, such as LGBTQ-specific counselling, were available at places they accessed help. Fourteen said they didn\u2019t feel their shelter promoted inclusivity or diversity.\n\nChapple is setting out to change that by designing an information and training session for shelters and other agencies to help them implement more inclusive policies and practices. It\u2019s not always malice, she said, but a matter of ignorance, and she hopes agencies that take the training will be able to improve their services.\n\n\u201cI know this is the right thing to do,\u201d said Chapple, who hopes to take the training program beyond Alberta.\n\n\u2018Forced to leave home\u2019: Why LGBTQ people are overrepresented among the homeless\n\nYOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN...\n\nIndependent scientist and researcher Alex Abramovich has been researching LGBTQ youth and homelessness for the past decade, after noticing the same gap in academia that Chapple did.\n\nLGBTQ people are overrepresented in the homeless population, Abramovich said, but often have more trouble accessing services and are \u201cunder represented in housing programs and in shelters.\u201d\n\nHe added that identity-based family conflict could be a major factor for why that is.\n\n\u201cThey\u2019re forced to leave home or they\u2019re kicked out of the house, and oftentimes, they\u2019re forced to leave because of the discrimination or violence that\u2019s happening.\u201d\n\nFinding stable housing is hard, especially when you\u2019re experiencing mental health issues, said Chapple, and discrimination makes it harder.\n\n\u201cDignity and respect is not tied to a set of keys,\u201d she said.\n\nThough more than half of the respondents said they had been treated respectfully at a shelter with regards to their sexual or gender identity, several others recounted experiences with homophobic staff, said Chapple. One respondent said they were told being gay was a sin.\n\nOne major problem Chapple sees is a lack of inclusivity training for shelter staff, as well as issues with the intake process for clients.\n\nHer own training program begins with an overview of the common mental health challenges faced by LGBTQ people. For example, she highlights the fact that almost all of her respondents said they struggled with mental health, such as PTSD or depression. The majority of them first experienced homelessness before the age of 20.\n\nIn the training, Chapple recommends that shelters also review their intake processes for binary enforcement, such as only offering male and female options.\n\nYOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN...\n\n\u2018They actually want to do better\u2019\n\nChapple cites Abramovich\u2019s research to back up her findings, highlighting that LGBTQ youth are at a higher risk of mental health concerns.\n\nIn 2015, Abramovich worked with the government of Alberta to develop a strategy to tackle LGBTQ youth homelessness.\n\nGet more housing news in your inbox Get more stories about owning, renting, and just getting by in Toronto and beyond with our Real Estate email newsletter. Sign Up Now\n\n\u201cA lot of these services, they actually want to do better,\u201d said Abramovich. \u201cThey want to provide the support, but they just don\u2019t know how, they don\u2019t have the training, or they don\u2019t have the tools and the resources to do so.\u201d\n\nThere have been some positive changes, he added. For example, this year the federal government started including gender and sexuality information on its annual Point-in-Time survey, which attempts to chronicle how many people are homeless on a given night in Canada.\n\nAnd his work in Alberta resulted in a report with a number of recommendations, all of which were accepted by the government, Abramovich said. Included in the recommendations was training for shelter staff created by local agencies, and a guideline for inclusivity for shelters to adhere to.\n\nHowever, Abramovich notes that the next step would be to make inclusivity standards and training programs mandatory for all shelter staff, otherwise those who need it most might never receive it.\n\nChapple said she wants to see training based on lived experience, which is part of why she created a program of her own that she hopes will help end the homophobia LGBTQ people experiencing homelessness say they are often faced with.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s got to stop. This is 2019. Knock it off.\u201d\n\nMany of Chapple\u2019s survey respondents said they didn\u2019t have enough LGBTQ-specific services, which is why she wants to establish more, such as a weekly support group. Her training program explicitly recommends shelters form groups of their own, and ensures that LGBTQ adults are consulted in the creation of updated policies or training.\n\nAbramovich said this is a key component that\u2019s missing from how many cities address homelessness.\n\nIn Toronto, the YMCA has a small transitional housing program for LGBTQ youth, he said. And in Alberta, the Boys and Girls Club has Aura, which matches LGBTQ youth with host families.\n\nIt\u2019s services like these that make LGBTQ people more comfortable reaching out for help, and can often make a big difference early on, he said.\n\n\u201cWe have these different strategies that focus on homelessness and poverty and housing. So within those strategies, we have to prioritize populations ... that are disproportionately represented,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a very serious safety issue.\u201d\n\nChapple also wants to conduct a similar survey in Edmonton and compare the results. Eventually, she said she\u2019d like to take this training beyond Alberta.\n\nShe said she knows she can make a difference with her work.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve done it already. Why would I not keep going?\u201d she said. \u201cI believe in me.\u201d\n\nRead more about:", "keywords": [], "meta_keywords": ["Calgary", "Edmonton", "Alberta", "LGBTQ", "Homelessness", "human rights", "shelter", "Housing", "poverty", "mental health", "homeless shelters", "homophobia", "safety", "alex abramovich", "Hilary Chapple", "Canada", "coast2coast", "smg_calgary"], "tags": [], "authors": ["Rosa Saba", "Star Calgary"], "publish_date": "Wed Jan 1 00:00:00 2020", "summary": "", "article_html": "", "meta_description": "Activist Hilary Chapple surveyed LGBTQ people experiencing homelessness and heard about discrimination and a lack of inclusivity in Calgary\u2019s shelters. So she created a training program to help them implement more inclusive policies and practices.", "meta_lang": "en", "meta_favicon": "/favicon-thestar.ico", "meta_data": {"viewport": "width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, maximum-scale=2.0, user-scalable=yes", "msapplication-TileColor": "#FFFFFF", "msapplication-TileImage": "/favicon-thestar-144.png", "msapplication-square70x70logo": "/favicon-thestar-70.png", "msapplication-square150x150logo": "/favicon-thestar-150.png", "msapplication-square310x310logo": "/favicon-thestar-310.png", "apple-itunes-app": "app-id=379481068", "apple-mobile-web-app-title": "thestar.com", "application-name": "thestar.com", "fb": {"pages": 134392236659479}, "storyuuid": "783d1220-fe00-4c40-bc21-b727ec815b9f", "description": "Activist Hilary Chapple surveyed LGBTQ people experiencing homelessness and heard about discrimination and a lack of inclusivity in Calgary\u2019s shelters. So she created a training program to help them implement more inclusive policies and practices.", "keywords": "Calgary,Edmonton,Alberta,LGBTQ,Homelessness,human rights,shelter,Housing,poverty,mental health,homeless shelters,homophobia,safety,alex abramovich,Hilary Chapple,Canada,coast2coast,smg_calgary", "news_keywords": "Calgary,Edmonton,Alberta,LGBTQ,Homelessness,human rights,shelter,Housing,poverty,mental health,homeless shelters,homophobia,safety,alex abramovich,Hilary Chapple,Canada,coast2coast,smg_calgary", "article": {"published": "2020-01-01", "modified": "2020-01-01", "section": "Calgary", "publisher": "https://www.facebook.com/torontostar"}, "thumbnail": "https://images.thestar.com/NtCHMdv9EdxvI1KGqSynqg03VGo=/93x62/smart/filters:cb(1577892888232)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/calgary/2020/01/01/its-got-to-stop-meet-the-calgary-lgbtq-advocate-working-to-end-homophobia-in-homeless-shelters/hilary_chapple.jpg", "og": {"title": "\u2018It\u2019s got to stop\u2019: Meet the Calgary LGBTQ advocate working to end homophobia in homeless shelters | The Star", "type": "article", "url": "https://www.thestar.com/calgary/2020/01/01/its-got-to-stop-meet-the-calgary-lgbtq-advocate-working-to-end-homophobia-in-homeless-shelters.html", "site_name": "thestar.com", "description": "Activist Hilary Chapple surveyed LGBTQ people experiencing homelessness and heard about discrimination and a lack of inclusivity in Calgary\u2019s shelters. 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So she created a training program to help them implement more inclusive policies and practices.", "image": "https://images.thestar.com/t46zeiDkWUMQekaE1Lio89obpgs=/1200x800/smart/filters:cb(1577892888232)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/calgary/2020/01/01/its-got-to-stop-meet-the-calgary-lgbtq-advocate-working-to-end-homophobia-in-homeless-shelters/hilary_chapple.jpg", "creator": "Rosa Saba"}, "parsely-title": "\u2018It\u2019s got to stop\u2019: Meet the Calgary LGBTQ advocate working to end homophobia in homeless shelters", "parsely-link": "https://www.thestar.com/calgary/2020/01/01/its-got-to-stop-meet-the-calgary-lgbtq-advocate-working-to-end-homophobia-in-homeless-shelters.html", "parsely-type": "post", "parsely-image-url": "https://images.thestar.com/NtCHMdv9EdxvI1KGqSynqg03VGo=/93x62/smart/filters:cb(1577892888232)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/calgary/2020/01/01/its-got-to-stop-meet-the-calgary-lgbtq-advocate-working-to-end-homophobia-in-homeless-shelters/hilary_chapple.jpg", "parsely-pub-date": "2020-01-01T14:00:00.000Z", "parsely-section": "Calgary", "parsely-tags": "Calgary, Edmonton, Alberta, LGBTQ, Homelessness, human rights, shelter, Housing, poverty, mental health, homeless shelters, homophobia, safety, alex abramovich, Hilary Chapple, Canada, coast2coast, smg_calgary, word count: 701-1200 words, source: in-house", "parsely-author": "Rosa Saba", "parsely-metadata": "{\"storyuuid\": \"783d1220-fe00-4c40-bc21-b727ec815b9f\"}"}, "canonical_link": "https://www.thestar.com/calgary/2020/01/01/its-got-to-stop-meet-the-calgary-lgbtq-advocate-working-to-end-homophobia-in-homeless-shelters.html"} |
