Denver, CO. says it’s a queer friendly city. Is It?

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Not if you are queer and houseless.  Denver is known as a “Sanctuary City” for queer people escaping persecution from other states. In 2024 alone, 43 states passed 48 laws out of 669 (14%) proposed anti-queer laws, compared to 2023 when 49 States passed 87 out of 604 proposed anti-queer laws (7% a 2 fold increase). You don’t have to go far to be in a state with some kind of anti-queer laws: Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Texas, etc…. all have bills aimed at stripping rights away from queer people. Add in the many escaping violence and/or persecution from their own loved ones everywhere else. These people, especially queer youth, are escaping these states and others and coming to places like Denver daily. Many come here with absolutely nothing but the clothes on their backs. 

Denver does have services you can for the most part obtain, like EBT, and medicaid. That being said, being unhoused is criminalized here. So if you’re here and try to survive on the streets, you’re likely to be harassed by the police on top of the increased risk of violence being a queer person on the streets. Denver’s shelter system is not equipped to deal with this specific demographic. There are zero queer-only overnight shelter services. The Delores Project only has 30 beds, but offers them to cis women as well as queer people. The congregate shelters are set up based on gender, which leaves queer people, especially trans and non-binary people, in a situation that can be detrimental to their safety. All of the congregate shelters in Denver are run by religious organizations that have known track records of anti-LGBTQIA+ sentiments. Denver does have a day center that caters to queer people, as well as cis women, but again, it is not just for queer people forcing trans and non-binary people to be put in untrue unsafe boxes.

“As a trans woman, when you’re houseless, alone, and having to choose between freezing to death or being sexually assaulted, it is easy to see why queer people would see shelter as an alternative to the streets.  It is in many ways equally unsafe, and outright hell. You end up being “gay bashed” (assaulted physically, or verbally for being queer) by pretty much everyone, including staff. You’re constantly a target for everyone else’s hate. If you react in any way to advocate or defend yourself, you quickly find that you have zero allies. Additionally you end up being kicked out or thinking about suicide or self harm.”  – Raven, a formerly houseless trans woman

This leaves the houseless queer community extra vulnerable to using apps like Grinder, Tinder, and others to basically get somewhere warm to sleep. Some sleep on the streets alone. Many end up turning to drugs like Methamphetamines as a way to stay awake and stay vigilant, and sadly some will never make it off the streets alive.

One only has to look back to Father’s Day. When Denver Police murdered a houseless BIPOC Trans womxn having a mental health crisis.  It begs one to wonder if they had been offered Queer based services, they may have never been in that position. Countless stories are out there of queer people being assaulted, raped, and killed due to their queer status. It’s sad to think that in 2024 going into 2025 that we are still dealing with a situation that could have been remedied years ago by opening a place where queer houseless people could go to get the specific support they need, including a safe place to stay at night.

It’s time the city of Denver, and the state of Colorado lives up to their ideals of equality for the queer community, and to work with a non-religious provider to create an accessible non-congregate/emergency congregate queer-oriented overnight shelter, staffed by queer people!!!!!!! We’re tired of hearing the stories of abuse that our houseless queer family have to endure because we have nowhere safe for them to go!!!!!!!!!