Today
the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, released a guide for
local, state, federal and community organizations, as to how best work
with LGBT people and families during disasters or forced evacuations.
In an emergency or disaster situation, vulnerable populations like LGBT
people are at a heightened risk for trauma and may be less likely to
have access to emergency services.
“Many LGBT individuals and families fear discrimination in shelters or
when seeking other emergency services during natural disasters or other
forced evacuations,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Emergency
responders and volunteers need to be aware of the needs many in our
community have, and should be sympathetic to the fact that families come
in all shapes and sizes. Our families deserve to be treated with
respect and should never be separated due to a lack of legal
recognition.”
HRC Legislative Counsel Robin Maril added, “LGBT families seeking
assistance may experience unnecessary, intrusive questions from shelter
volunteers and workers. After a disaster or evacuation, many people
enter a shelter with very little personal identification or
documentation. For LGBT families, who often rely on a number of
documents to prove their relationships to each other, or their children,
this increases their vulnerability to discrimination.”
Housing and access to proper medical care can be especially challenging
for transgender people after a disaster. “Transgender people are often
denied access to gender appropriate restroom and housing facilities,
continued Griffin. “This denial is not only humiliating, but can also
be dangerous.”
For years HRC has advocated for protections for LGBT people and their
families in accessing disaster relief services. For example, as part of
the Blueprint for Positive Change –
a list of LGBT-specific non-legislative policy recommendations made to
then President-elect Obama during his transition to the White House –
HRC urged the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to take steps
to ensure that same-sex couples and their families are eligible for, and
do not face discrimination in obtaining, federal disaster assistance.
HRC continues to urge FEMA and other federal agencies involved in
disaster relief to make their programs as welcoming and inclusive of
LGBT people as possible.
The competency guide comes in the middle of an already-busy Atlantic
hurricane season, with thirteen named storms to date and experts
predicting a busy second half. In the Western United States,
record-setting wild fires are displacing thousands of residents from
their homes.