The NYC Department of Homeless Services is riddled with ineffective and discriminatory practices that wind up doing homeless people a lot of harm; this is just one of them. Take a few seconds to send the DHS a postcard calling for them to stop demanding an unfairly high burden of proof of domestic partners who are seeking to enter shelters together, as a family. Because this proof is very difficult to provide, homeless couples who are not married are often forced to choose between staying together on the streets, and being split up in shelters. Here’s the link from the LGBT Center in NYC.
1 Response to “NYC Department of Homeless Services: Stop discrimination against domestic partners!”
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ugh. at the beginning of the school year I went through the incredibly annoying process of proving my domestic partnership for health insurance reasons. I was amazed at all the crap we had to come up with. and almost none of it is something you would have if you were homeless or having a hard time (utility bills with both your names, signed lease with both your names in addition to the landlord’s). I get that it’s a little easier to register (and dissolve) a domestic partnership than a marriage, but that’s not a relevant point as long as marriage is a hetero-only institution.
anyway, I did the postcard. (there’s some major issues surrounding homeless shelter policies for families with schoolchildren, too… it’s a frustrating system.)