Tennessee organisation builds tiny homes for homeless trans women

My Sistah’s House, a Tennessee-based organisation which aims to provide permanent accommodation for trans women affected by homelessness, has just seen its first resident move into one of twenty tiny houses, a year after the nonprofit was first set up by trans activist Kayla Gore. Gore told CBS News that she too experienced homelessness, saying: “Other people who were experiencing homelessness kind of showed me how to stay safe, because I’m a transgender woman, I’m black.”

She pointed out that trans people are disproportionately affected by unemployment and discrimination making it difficult to find secure accommodation, saying: “A lot of people will not understand the experiences of trans people…not having access to jobs in the first place…We have access to menial jobs, like in a warehouse. Tennessee is an at-will state, so you can be fired for any reason or no reason.”

Gore also said: “A lot of folks don’t have addresses where they can actually put on an application to get a job”, leading to a cycle of poverty and homelessness, which My Sistah’s House aims to tackle. Alexis Jackson is the first owner of a tiny home built by the organisation after experiencing homelessness. Gore hopes she can provide women like Jackson a “pathway to success and life”.