Statistics Behind the Unbalanced Numbers of LGBTQ+ Individuals Within the Homeless Community

According to a 2019 study by the Oregon Food Bank, 27% of LGBTQIA+ individuals reported a lack of sufficient funds for food at some point in the last year, compared to 17% of straight or cisgender Americans. Studies show disproportionate numbers of LGBTQIA+ individuals within the homeless community. Although society has come a long way in the journey of acceptance for those within this community, poverty and hunger are prominent issues within the homeless LGBTQIA+ community.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

SNAP is a federal program that was created to help feed hungry Americans. According to a study done by Pew Research Center in 2023, almost 42 million people received SNAP benefits and LGBTQIA+ individuals received these benefits at twice the rate of those not part of the queer community. The Williams Institute suggests this may be because, “a higher percentage of LGBT than non-LGBT people have incomes below the federal poverty level (FPL).” In 2020, LGBTQ POC made up 33.1% of the U.S. poverty rates according to Williams Institute. These rates have not gone unnoticed and organizations are working to create more lenient terms of eligibility for individuals and families to qualify for programs like SNAP. According to the Department of Children and Family Services in Louisiana, “The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will provide higher monthly household benefits to over 300,000 Louisiana households beginning October 1, 2023, thanks to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) cost-of-living adjustment for Federal Fiscal Year 2024.” This means eligibility standards based on income are being adjusted with inflation and federal poverty levels, allowing more individuals and families to qualify for SNAP benefits.

Discrimination in the Workplace

52% of LGBTQ+ adults lived in states where no laws existed to help protect them from discrimination, harassment, or firing in the work environment, in 2019, according to USA Today. It is estimated that almost 50% of LGBTQ+ individuals keep their sexual orientation hidden in the workspace in fear of being mistreated or compromising professional connections and half of LGBTQIA+ adults reported experiencing some form of workplace discrimination or harassment in the past year because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or intersex status, according to the National LGBTQ Workers Center. LGBTQ+ adults make up 6.2% of Americans who earn under $36,000 a year while only making up 4.5% of the entire U.S. population. 27% of transgender workers reported being fired, not hired, or denied promotion in 2016-2017 and only 1 out of 5 U.S. companies offer paid family leave for LGBTQ+ employees according to the National LGBTQ Workers. In a survey conducted by the UCLA School of Law, over half of LGBTQ+ employees who experienced harassment or discrimination in the workspace indicated that the discriminatory treatment was motivated by religious beliefs.

Unwelcoming Food Banks

Many food banks are religiously affiliated and while this is not an obstacle for any cis-gendered or straight individuals, LGBTQ+ people face the possibility of being denied from places like this. A study from Williams Institute in June 2020 conducted and analyzed interviews with 93 low-income LGBTQ+ individuals living in Los Angeles and Kern County, California. They found that 14% of LGBTQ+ people have avoided faith-based food banks in fear of being turned away. WhyHunger was a project started to help connect people to food banks near them, with over 32,000 locations in its database. After hearing about the rejection LGBTQ+ individuals were facing from religious based organizations, WhyHunger added information about how to find places that are safe and welcoming for LGBTQ+ community members.

Organizations like SNAP and WhyHunger continue to work against the increasing numbers of homeless individuals. Factors like discrimination in the workplace and unwelcoming shelters feed into the unbalanced numbers of LGBTQ+ individuals within the homeless population. Many low income households rely on benefits from these programs to help to put food on the table. Creating less strict qualifications to be eligible for these programs has allowed more people to seek the help they need.

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