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A transgender woman has filed a discrimination complaint with the D.C. Office of Human Rights charging that officials with the Community for Creative Non-Violence homeless shelter refused to allow her to stay in the women’s section of the shelter, forcing her to stay in the men’s sleeping section.
The shelter, located at 425 2nd St., N.W., is one of the city’s largest privately operated homeless services facilities organized by the Community for Creative Non-Violence, which is known as CCNV. It was founded by nationally acclaimed homeless services advocate Mitch Snyder, who passed away in 1990.
The complaint, filed last week by Stephon “Lashawn” Jordan, states that Jordan and a cisgender female friend arrived at the CCNV shelter around 2:30 a.m. on March 22 after they obtained a ride to the shelter through the city’s Emergency Shelter Hotline.
“Upon arrival we were informed that we would have to complete an intake once upstairs at the female housing unit,” Jordan states in the complaint. “Once we arrived a staff member came out. The staff member stated to me that we don’t house transgender individuals in this unit and that I would have to go down to the male shelter unit,” the complaint says.
It says Jordan’s female friend told the staff member she was not going to leave her friend, who identifies as female, by herself in another location at the shelter. “The staff member did not want to hear it and said that both of you can go downstairs too,” the complaint says. “Once we got downstairs to the male shelter unit we asked to speak with a supervisor,” it says.
“Someone came, but the decision was that myself and my friend could go and sleep in the male housing unit,” the complaint states. “During our stay it was very humiliating especially using the restroom,” it concludes.
A spokesperson for the CCNV shelter did not immediately respond to a phone and email message left by the Washington Blade asking for a response to the complaint.
Transgender rights advocates, including D.C. trans activist Earline Budd, who assisted Jordan in filing the complaint, have said the denial of placement of a transgender woman in the female section of a place of public accommodation such as a homeless shelter is a violation of the D.C. Human Rights Act’s ban on gender identity discrimination.
The Office of Human Rights website explains that under its policy for responding to discrimination complaints, the complainant and the accused party are required to enter mediation to determine if the complaint can be resolved. If the mediation fails, the OHR website statement says, a full investigation is conducted that can take up to six months to complete. It says upon completion of the investigation, the office makes a determination of whether probable cause exists that discrimination occurred.
If probable cause is found, the case is sent to the D.C. Commission on Human Rights, which holds a public evidentiary hearing with witnesses before making a final decision on whether discrimination occurred.
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