The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) intends to formally submit comments in opposition to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s proposed rule, “Making Admission or Placement Determinations Based on Sex in Facilities Under Community Planning and Development Housing Programs.” The rule would legitimize discrimination against transgender and nonbinary people and create additional impediments to their ability to access shelter as they journey from homelessness to permanent housing, by allowing organizations to utilize a person’s gender identity to disenfranchise them. 
The proposal would require a facility that refuses services to transgender people to refer them to an alternate accommodation.  However, limitations on shelter availability across the community could make the referral requirement virtually irrelevant.  As we work to collectively ensure access to housing, shelter, and other support services, we need to focus on making those services easier to access – particularly during a raging pandemic and for populations that are victimized at a higher rate when unsheltered.   
According to VA, transgender veterans are nearly three times more likely to experience housing instability than cisgender veterans. 50 percent of transgender veterans have diagnosed PTSD and 48 percent have either experienced suicidal ideation or made an attempt at suicide.  Proposed changes to HUD’s Equal Access Rule could leave transgender and nonbinary veterans lacking access to shelter and the path to housing it provides, particularly if they are ineligible for VA services due to their discharge status. 
Rather than allowing discrimination against transgendered veterans to persist, HUD should do everything it can to empower these veterans to access housing, in support of their mental health and ability to thrive in society.  We owe them nothing less, for their service. 
Read the rule here: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=HUD-2020-0047-0001 
The comment period is open until September 22.  The Administration must hear that legitimizing gender discrimination is unacceptable and puts people at risk.  Go to housingsaveslives.org to share your thoughts with HUD.