Empowering LGBTQ People at Emma Norton Services
To people who have known Emma Norton as an organization that primarily serves women, it may come as a surprise to hear that we have program participants from all parts of the gender spectrum. To understand why, it’s helpful to look at our history.
The populations served by Emma Norton have changed a number of times in response to specific community needs. It started in 1917 with girls and women seeking education and job opportunities, then in the 70s and 80s ENS housed deaf students and families of long-term hospital patients. In the 1990s there was a sharp rise in homelessness among women, and Emma Norton responded by becoming a shelter. In the early 2000s Emma’s Place was built in Maplewood to meet the housing need for larger families. When there is a clear and obvious need in our community, and we have the capacity to help meet that need, we strive to do so.
Over the past decade Emma Norton has been serving a more gender diverse population, as the need for LGBTQ-friendly supportive housing has become increasingly apparent and dire. The latest Minnesota Homeless Study found that 11% of Minnesota’s homeless population were LGBTQ, while 4% of Minnesota’s general population identifies as LGBTQ. The same study also found a strong overlap in homeless women and homeless LGBTQ people; 57% of the overall homeless population are men, while 63% of the homeless LGBTQ population are women. When we considered this data, and the experiences of our program participants, it was clear we were already serving the LGBTQ community.
With this knowledge, we began more intentionally working to empower our LGBTQ program participants. We changed signs on bathrooms that were already single stall to be inclusive to all genders. We encourage staff to share their pronouns, making it a safe space for transgender program participants to advocate for themselves in that way. We offer transgender and gender non-conforming program participants separate bathroom facilities for their own comfort, but don’t demand that they use them exclusively. We’ve increased the number of LGBTQ people on staff in recent years, both in our administrative staff and program staff, which creates better informed decisions regarding LGBTQ inclusivity.
Our Supportive Housing Manager, Nicque Mabrey, is one of those staff. “As a Queer, Non-Binary Femme, I think a lot about all the hope, joy, and wild struggle it took to get to this moment. This moment, where I claim space proudly and keep stretching to live into all of the ways I am and will be,” they said. “Gratitude to our sacred Transcestors and radical Queers whose lives are all connected to what is possible. What a time to be alive.”
Another LGBTQ staff member is Alex Dalbey-Thomas, the Communications Specialist, and the writer of this blog post. I’d like to take the end of the blog to share my personal experience with Emma Norton, as a queer and transgender person. When I got my business cards in 2019, and saw my pronouns printed on them, I cried a little from happiness. It was the first time I had an official thing that gendered me correctly. If you have to fully or partially hide who you are for at least a third of your waking hours every week, it will wear you down. I feel very lucky to be in a workplace where LGBTQ people aren’t just accommodated, but fully included. I’m so glad I don’t have to dim my light here.
