Fresno City College hosted the fourth annual Queer Housing Summit on Aug. 21 and 22 in the Old Administration Building. The event covered housing insecurity and finding affordable, safe places to live for members of the LGBTQ community.
The summit’s theme of this year was “Over the Borderline: Sobre la Línea Fronteriza.” It was launched by Fresno City College Social Justice Center, Housing Now!, Youth Leadership Institute and more in order to explore solutions for the community and connect with attendees.
Soledad Eufracio Freeman, operations manager with South Tower Community Land Trust and one of the organizers of the summit, described the event as an “opportunity to bring people together and to tackle housing challenges specific to the LGBTQ community.”
She explained how FCC was an important chosen location for the summit.
“We host it here (FCC) in order to house and invite conversations about creative housing solutions, and challenges, and bringing folks together that can be able to address those. And specifically looking at the LGBTQIA+ community,” Freeman said. “It’s part of the heart of the Tower District and part of the heart of Fresno.”
Freeman said the summit has grown since its first year, with more attendees coming from outside the Central Valley.
Ana Miller, an advocate and organizer with House Keys Action Network Denver and founder of the Trans Empowerment Alliance, attended the summit to represent unhoused queer people.
Miller said LGBTQ people face a higher risk of homelessness than non-LGBTQ people.
“We face a lot more discrimination than a lot of non-queer people when it comes to housing, so I would love to see what kinds of different ideas that people will come up with,” Miller said.
For Miller, addressing those challenges also means understanding and supporting people who have experienced them firsthand.
“You can’t just really understand the experience of somebody who’s houseless and queer, if you haven’t lived that experience,” Miller said. “The best people to advocate for the queer houses community is the queer housing community themselves.”
The summit also addressed the barriers LGBTQ people face when looking for housing, including difficulty in finding safe rental properties, homeownership and having the knowledge of what resources are available.
“What does it look like to buy a house with not your family, or maybe a partner, but with your friends, or folks that you are connected to that aren’t a ‘traditional family?” Freeman said.
The summit featured keynote speaker Amber Alton, who spoke about housing justice, barriers and racial discrimination that affect the community. They explained how housing is important to provide a safer environment, but also how difficult it can be to find housing without a stable financial and social situation.
“It’s not just any housing; it’s dignified housing that provides people with autonomy and stability that they need to thrive and live pridefully,” Alton said.
Peter Robertson, another speaker, talked about the discrimination he faced being a member and advocate for the LGBT community in Fresno. Robertson spoke about the progress he’s seen since starting his advocacy, and he encouraged people to continue being an ally for each other.
“Three years of hate turned into two years of joy,” Robertson said. “Those are some rainbows that came out of these storms.”
The need for accessible housing was also important to Isaiah Donovan, who volunteered at the event.
For Donovan, the issue is personal.
“I had no choice but to go live with an abusive partner because it was better than my conservative family. I didn’t really get much of a choice,” Donovan said.
Donovan emphasized the importance of community for people who struggle with housing by giving them opportunities or supporting one another.
“People sticking out for each other. Like, if you have more, being able to reach out to someone and give them an opportunity to succeed,” Donovan said.
Joe Haydock, a local realtor and fair housing advocate, who attended the summit for his third year, also emphasized the need for greater housing accessibility. Haydock expressed how the housing market was challenging for LGBTQ people in Fresno, with discrimination and underrepresentation of queer people.
“We need more accessible housing,” Haydock said.
Haydock hopes the summit continues to grow and give the LGBTQ community an understanding of their rights.
The summit provided connections with nearby housing resources.
“South Tower Community Land Trust is currently working on literally building additional housing in Fresno, we’d love to keep folks included in knowing what those new home ownership opportunities are,” Freeman said.