In this article, I'll be examining housing rights and homelessness amongst LGBT youth in New Zealand. At first sight, New Zealand might seem to have some advantages compared to the plight of LGBT homeless youth in other jurisdictions. We still have a comprehensive welfare state, nationwide antidiscrimination laws (although transgender inclusion is questionable) and there is growing acceptance for LGBT family members, as well as many LGBT youth and community welfare organisations and inclusive youth services. On the down side, these services may be restricted to metropolitan centres, with little outreach available to provincial and rural centres due to government and donor funding constraints. What does the Human Rights Act have to say? Its accommodation section refers to the fact that it is illegal to deny any person to treat, deny or terminate the right of any person to occupy [accommodation] in this context. Any landlord or rental property management agency is therefore breaking the law if they discriminate against potential tenants on the bases of sexual orientation or HIV status. What about exemptions to the above that specifically affect emergency accommodation? According to the Human Rights Commission website: "There are a number of circumstances where it is not unlawful to discriminate in the provision of land, housing and other accommodation. These include: • Shared residential accommodation. • Hostels, institutions etc (sex, marital status, religious or ethical belief, disability or age). " As can be noted, sexual orientation and HIV status are not on this list. However, as the current Human Rights Act doesn't concretely include gender identity, there may be discriminatory difficulties when it comes to members of their communities. Possibly, one way out of this situation might be to point out that "gender identity disorder" is currently listed within the DSM IV, and qualifies as a 'disability', although I haven't come across such a strategy in New Zealand. In formal terms, there is an Independent Youth Benefit available for those who need to leave their homes and are undergoing late secondary education, low-level and short duration skills and vocational training, or meet other circumstances. Administered by Work and Income New Zealand, the Independent Youth Benefit is accessible if one is aged sixteen to seventeen, unable to live with one's parents, otherwise bereft of financial support and without dependent children. Secondary school students, unemployed, short-term work trainees and sick, injured or disabled late adolescents are eligible, although one must also be a New Zealand citizen or refugee. Additional assistance may also be available for accommodation and disability support needs, depending on one's personal circumstances. How does this work out in practise? Unfortunately, I couldn't find any references to specific cases of accommodation discrimination on the Human Rights Commission website itself. Fortunately, though, I was able to find existing research on the matter and contacted relevant LGBT community and youth organisations to find out what the lay of the land was on this issue. In 2008, Jenny Rankine did an admirably thorough piece of survey research for the Auckland City Council on LGBT et al needs assessment in terms of community service provision. I am indebted to her for providing me with a copy of her excellent report on challenges that face the Auckland LGBT et al communities. Firstly, Rankine's research found evidence of demographic clustering, as even provincial city and rural youth may flee homophobic/transphobic homes or neighbourhoods to the nearest large city. Insofar as LGBT youth organisations were concerned, Rainbow Youth and Outline expressed some frustration at the imbalance that existed between community needs and funding and service availability constraints in their contexts when Rankine contacted them. She also cited the Youth 2000 report, which indicated that LGBT youth were more likely to run away and some reported risks or perceived risks to personal safety within night shelters. In the case of those under sixteen years of age, several younger respondents complained that Child Youth and Family Services were not providing adequately monitored foster parenting in their contexts. Others noted that given the lack of safe shelter options, some were forced to seek shelter with LGBT friends and older LGBT community members. Others ended up in poor housing or were forced out of their new accommodation by homophobic or transphobic harassment. For transitioning transpeople, they may face problems with documentation if it hasn't been altered to meet their newly acquired gender when it comes to employment and housing references. Commendably, Christchurch does have a facility called Rainbow House for transwomen and transmen in such circumstances. I'm not sure how this might have been affected by the recent Christchurch earthquake. And of course, ancillary alcohol, drug and mental health problems also affect service delivery and complicate access to appropriate and inclusion health care and housing needs. While this report is probably the benchmark, I was interested in what practical steps community organisations took when dealing with LGBT youth homelessness. As ever, Outline's Vaughan Meneses was quite informative. He explained that if LGBT youth contacted Outline with emergency shelter issues, they would work with the person and also refer them to Rainbow Youth for more focused assistance. As with US LGBT youth homelessness aid organisations, he was sceptical about safety in the context of night shelters, so did not refer LGBT youth with emergency shelter issues to that option. In terms of domestic violence, there is a serious need for battered gay partner's shelters. Lesbians can access the existing women's refuge shelters if fleeing violent relationships, but transwomen are at a disadvantage, depending on whether the local refuge policy is based on trans-inclusive feminist or transphobic 'radical' 'feminist' principles. Vaughan also referred to respite housing as a future possibility. Schools Out replied to my email and noted that two late adolescents had experienced an emergency shelter crisis, which hadn't been an issue that they had previously had to face. Gay Wellington and Queer Avengers are working on the issue of LGBT emergency housing and shelter issues. Reportedly, WINZ refused to provide financial assistance several times until they were pressured into doing so. They also praised the LGBT community for its general responsiveness and this story ended happily, with their outstanding accommodation needs met. Judging from the above, clearly LGBT youth accommodation and shelter crises are an issue for some lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/whakawahine, takatapui and fa'afafine youth. As to the magnitude of the problem, clearly more contemporary research into LGBT general and youth housing needs is necessary. Given that the Key administration has cut permanent tenancy arrangements for state housing tenants and there is already a shortage of housing stock available for emergency accommodation needs, this situation may be about to deteriorate. Outline and Schools Out are to be commended for their concern and activity over this issue, as are Gay Wellington and Queer Avengers and Jenny Rankine. Community welfare organisations certainly seem committed to dealing with this issue. However, as with most LGBT and other community welfare organisations, this aspiration is dependent on funding opportunities and that is always a struggle, with need outweighing resources. Under the current government, community welfare funding has also been cut back. In April 2011, the Society of Youth Health Professionals Aotearoa/New Zealand and Auckland University's Adolescent Health Research Group also held a symposium, specifically on transgender youth health needs. Recommended: Jenny Rankine: Auckland City Council LGBTT Community Centre Needs Assessment Report (2008) Outline: http://www.outlinenz.com Rainbow Youth: http://www.rainbowyouth.org.nz Schools Out: http://www.gaywellington.org/schoolsout.htm Genderbridge: http://www.genderbridge.org Craig Young - 7th October 2011