cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/63078842
Crow Harmony never felt at ease living in Florida as a transgender guy. The state has some of the most restrictive anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the country, and Harmony said he struggled to find employers willing to hire trans people. Last fall, after Harmony’s boyfriend transitioned, the couple lost their housing.
They were just 21 and 20 with no money or job prospects, so Harmony reached out to a Seattle nonprofit for help getting out of Florida. The nonprofit, a trans-led organization called Traction, welcomed the couple with a place to sleep and money for moving. But unbeknownst to Harmony, Traction was struggling, too.
Since the 2024 election, Traction has helped 1,500 trans people flee red states — more than 20 times the 70 people it aided in the 18 months before the election. And it’s just one of several Seattle nonprofits whose leaders say they don’t have the resources to help the number of trans people who’ve left their homes for the safety of the Pacific Northwest.
Though trans people make up just 1 percent of the population in Washington state, the nonprofits that help them say their budgets are drained and their staffs are stretched so thin that last month the Seattle LGBTQ Commission asked Mayor Katie Wilson (D) to declare a civil state of emergency. Such a declaration would free up general fund dollars to bolster the nonprofits’ finances as they help transplants find housing and jobs.
“The conditions,” the commission wrote in a June 2 letter to Wilson and the City Council, “are an urgent policy concern and a life-and-death matter for internal displaced persons fleeing to Seattle for safety.”
There are amazing places to live here that are just outside of Seattle but still on the west side of lake Washington. With the light rail it’s an easy trip to Seattle. Don’t be discouraged. The people here are welcoming.
Even the surrounding cities are still pretty supportive, especially Tacoma and Olympia.
Please come here! We want to help!
Not to be too ‘doomer’, but It’s important to note that while seattle is fast becoming the trans mecca, thurston/king/pierce counties make up some of the highest cost of living areas in the country. On top of that, our social services are being absolutely crushed right now between the massive population influx and the Trump admin being bastards. I work with several charities and many of them are closing their waitlists because they’re thousands of people long. It’s quite a bit better out here for queers of all flavours, but it’s also one of the most brutal capitalist hellscapes in the world and overlooking that reality is the root cause of our horrifyingly massive queer homeless population.
The bottom line is that if you don’t have housing or work lined up before moving, you need to be very careful. Field depending, it can take months-years to find a job (ex: it took me almost 1.5 years to land my current position in tech) or even just to get on EBT, let alone getting into social / low income housing (many of which are turning to lottos in the interest of fairness). Even homes in Olympia, which do not have remotely convenient access to seattle (some of the worst traffic in the world during peak hours is the I-5 corridor between seattle and olympia) are averaging more than $500k.
The peninsula is another option. While still expensive, it’s definitely much cheaper than anything else on the other side of the sound
Most queer folk on the peninsula are doing everything they can to get away from there. Very pretty, but there is fuckall out there besides small town weirdness and fent/heroin…
If you are trans and reading this article, understand that it means you can and should come here to live if you feel unsafe where you are. We will figure out a way to make a place for you to be safe here with us in Seattle.
I feel a vague sense of unease about this based on how the USA generally views and treats refugees.
The key difference is that at least with internal refugees, most of the people fleeing are still US citizens and can vote to protect their interests. We could end up with a situation where some states have massively inflated trans populations. If a state ends up with 5% its population as trans, suddenly that creates a huge voting block that will make it impossible for any Democrat politician from that state to not support trans rights.
International refugees arrive at a place with nothing but a hope for kindness and compassion. Internal refugees are already full citizens simply exercising their birthright to live where they please.
The Pacific Northwest has generally been a safe haven for the LGBT+ community.
