Images and quotes
Homelessness is something which disproportionately affects trans people, with multiple reasons increasing the vulnerability of losing secure housing. The following illustrations aim to showcase items of significance for the people who kindly shared their story for this project. The quotes weaved throughout highlight the the challenges faced by trans people experiencing homelessness.
Mine
Pronoun - That which belongs to me.
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Synonyms - Ownership - Rights of possessions - Control
"For me, freedom does require some level of security"
Home
Noun - A refuge, a sanctuary; a place or region to which one naturally belongs or where one feels at ease. ​
Synonyms - Refuge - Anchor - Secure
"Living in a hostel especially, you have this sort of anxiety and expectation that the next person that moves into that room might not necessarily be a nice person. That suddenly you could be in danger. do you know what I mean? It's a very real sort of feeling and it's not a nice feeling to have essentially in a place they say...you know people say hostels home, it's not rally home though it it? It's a place you're staying with other people that could switch on you in a second."
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Permission
Noun - The act of permitting allowing or giving consent; consent to leave or liberty to do something
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Synonyms - Permit - Consent - Acceptance
“I had a massive phobia from like basically 11 years old of unpacking boxes because I'd have to pack them up again a week later”
Recognition
Noun - The action or fact of identifying a thing as having a certain character, or as belonging to a certain category.
Synonyms - Acknowledge - Accept - Surrender
“Just putting my furniture in, and stuff. It was never important before you know, and this is mine, it's nobody else's”
Regulation
Noun - The process whereby a living organism adapts its structure in order to accomodate disturbances or damage that it undergoes, so that it develops as an integrated whole.
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Synonyms - Measure - Control - Power
"It's something I didn't always have, the sort of security...and literally didn't always have. I didn't know where my bed was going to be...or if i did it was a nightmare. I had a rat's nest in (my) bed and I knew I was sleeping on it"
Processing
Transitive - To subject (a person) to a process, as of registration, examination, or analysis.
Synonyms - Clarifying - Revealing - Significant
I have to be on it each day I can't just mess about. I can't think how my life would have improved without them like, they're the only thing that changed my life completely. Because they're completely dependent on you, for everything"
(The) Best
Adjective - Of the highest excellence; surpassing all others in quality.
Synonyms - Perfect - Complete - Whole
Trouble
Noun - An instance of this; a misfortune, calamity; a distressing or vexatious circumstance, occurance or experience. ​
Synonyms - Effort - Energy - Life
"I think she's single handedly responsible for me surviving and not killing myself. It was the anchor in my life, she was the reason I couldn't kill myself, because I was like...I can't leave her"
Love
Noun - Strong predilection, liking, or fondness (for something); devotion (to something).
​ Synonyms - Adore - Appreciate - Treasure
"(I'm) worried and terrified of like, what I can't do X,Y and Z? And that's going to bring me back to the very beginning of being on the streets. That definitely is a scary thought, but I try not to think about it too much because that stuff just depresses me"
Family (of choice)
Official Definition - Undefined ​
Kim & Feyissa (2021) - "A group of individuals who deliberately choose one another to play significant roles in each other’s lives"
Synonym - Kindred - Allied - United
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Kim, S. & Feyissa, I.F. (2021) Conceptualizing ‘Family’ and the Role of ‘Chosen Family’ within the LGBTQ+ Refugee Community: A Text Network Graph Analysis. Healthcare, 9(4), 369.
Sacred
Adjective - Dedicated, set apart, exclusively appropriated to some person or some special person. ​
Synonyms - Protected - Invulnerable - Secure
“Home is one of the things I am most grateful for, like home and my friendships”
This image was created by Berywn to encompasses the key themes of the wider research project: safety, self-expression, permanence, and the meaning of home.
