Hey everyone!! Welcome back to another weekly update. Happy Pride Month to everyone, and as we’re celebrating our first Friday of Pride Month, I wanted to share with you all the recent research paper I wrote for my class - on homelessness and the LGBTQ+ community. As someone who is part of the LGBTQ + community, and who has been homeless before- it’s important that we understand the disparities and what we can do to help!! So please enjoy and let me know what you think!! D581- Research Methods- WGU- Homeless disparities in the LGBTQ+ community. (By Kaylei Flanagin) ____________________________________ When it comes to the disparities that the LGBTQ community faces daily, inequalities and discrimination are at the heart of the problem at hand. LGBTQ individuals have reported acts of mistreatment, harassment, and discrimination for decades, but when compared to other top issues in America, a lot of things overlap. Specifically with homelessness, tens of thousands of LGBTQ+ individuals find themselves experiencing homelessness, but is there a direct correlation between homelessness and the LGBTQ+ Community? Or are the demographics and research incorrect? Fraser et al. (2019) use the concept of intersectionality to argue that the demographics of the unhoused LGBTQ community often go unnoticed despite making up nearly half of the unhoused population. Stating that the LGBTQ population is only 5-10%, while 20-40% of the entirety face homelessness. It’s important to note that this research study’s definition of homelessness includes not only those on the streets, but also those couch surfing, living in cars, vans, or tents, and includes those living in shelters and women’s refuges. This study is important because it shows a direct correlation between the LGBTQ community and homelessness, as it states that the large population of unhoused individuals consists of those who identify as LGBTQ+. Formby et al. (2025) Academic Journal Understanding Homelessness and Housing Among LGBTQ+ people and where we are as of 2024, uses a global framework, while singling out the United States to support their findings. Pointing out the presidential election in 2024 for President Donald Trump as a drive of hatred on gender, as well as normalizing homophobic views, while allowing policies to advance against the LGBTQ+ community. This made the United States safety for the LGBTQ+ community decline rapidly over the years, as hostility against gender and sexual identity weakens the safety of those wishing to adhere to their preferred identity. They also argue that while homelessness is prevalent all over the world and across the United States, the rate at which LGBTQ+ individuals can effectively navigate homelessness is extremely low. As most forms of shelters other than living on the streets segregate by gender and religion, it is very difficult to be accepted by a shelter or live in a shelter based on your gender identity. This is important because it shows that the correlation between being homeless and LGBTQ shows that homelessness has become more severe over time for the LGBTQ community, while highlighting that most of the aid in navigating homelessness isn’t inclusive, further prolonging instability for those who identify in the LGBTQ+ community. It also highlights the main point that homelessness in the LGBTQ+ community is a widespread and growing concern that can’t be ignored any longer. McCarthy and Parr’s (2022) study of the question Is LGBTQ homelessness different, studied the correlation between LGBTQ and homelessness to see if their experiences were different compared to those in the regular unhoused population. The question remains: Is there a correlation between the LGBTQ community and the unhoused community? Their findings suggest a direct correlation between being in the LGBTQ+ community and becoming homeless, stating that there is a dangerous correlation at that, especially in the United States. A weak safety net for Americans leads to very little support for this part of the unhoused community, stating that when LGBTQ individuals are at risk of losing their housing, that they receive little support, and go against the common belief that addiction and substance abuse “cause” homelessness, but rather becomes the consequence and survival technique to find relief when the American system doesn’t provide alternative options. This study helps to highlight the correlation between the LGBTQ+ community and the unhoused community, citing the lack of understanding and support that leads to the vulnerability the LGBTQ+ community faces. After reviewing that there is indeed a direct correlation between the LGBTQ+ community and the unhoused community, the question remains. How does the timing of the disclosure of identity in the LGBTQ+ community influence the trajectory and safety of the shelter systems that are in place? The research thus far has described the overrepresentation of LGBTQ+ individuals in shelters and the unsafe conditions and segregation; however, it will help to expand the statistics of those who entered the shelters “out” versus those who come “out” while already homeless. Meaning, those who were forced into homelessness due to their “coming out” or identity, rather than those who came out after moving out due to the fear of safety alone. A great way to indulge in the findings of this form of research would be to use a Quantitative method. While the Qualitative method would help us focus on open-ended, more detailed responses, a Quantitative approach would be better for backing up our findings statistically, measuring exactly how experiences compare across the entire population. A great start to this study would be to narrow in on the young adults (ages 18-25) in the United States who identify as LGBTQ+ and have stayed in shelters all over America. To conduct a proper Quantitative survey, a few questions would need to be identified openly and detailed precisely: To make the study simple to understand, three categories would be adhered to. One would include identifying whether they openly identified before leaving home, whether they became openly identified after becoming homeless (a simple multiple choice question), their age/orientation they identify as (multiple choice categories and gender identity options), and their shelter experience (Likert scale of experience and safety): all targeted through social media and shelters specifically through staff, and conducted as a snowball sample distributed through a Google Form via a QR code (protecting anonymity and privacy). It’s important to keep your own biases out of the study, so I would make sure to distribute the survey to many different places. Local shelters, community centers, and online forums/boards. This increases the diverse population sampled. I would also use neutral wording and pilot-test my survey with a few people to ensure it’s clear, concise, and not biased. Lastly, as stated above, keeping their names anonymous and without tracking them encourages the homeless population in this community to give honest answers without fear of retaliation. This would complete our study and deepen our understanding of the direct correlation between the LGBTQ+ Community and the Homeless population. Citations Formby, E., Matthews, P., Barnett, C., Lambert, P., & Gregory, L. (2025). Understanding homelessness and housing among LGBTQ+ people. Housing Studies. Advance online publication. https://research.ebsco.com/c/25xrgu/search/details/lv33bltycn limiters=&q=lgbtq%20homelessness Fraser, B., Pierse, N., Chisholm, E., & Cook, H. (2019). LGBTIQ+ homelessness: A review of the literature. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(15), Article 2677. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6695950/ McCarthy, L., & Parr, S. (2022). Is LGBT homelessness different? Reviewing the relationship between LGBT identity and homelessness. Housing Studies, 1–19. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/02673037.2022.2104819?needAccess=true ________________________________________ I hope you enjoyed this week’s update! Please share and encourage signatures!! Thank you!!