62 year old Jacquelyn Gelderblom says she’s sleeping in a children’s park because she can’t get a bed in a homeless shelter.
« I’m learning which ones are good… » says Gelderblom. « and they are all no good for transgender. »
She switches between the terms transgender and Two Spirit, a First Nations term used to describe certain queer identities, to describe herself.
A spokesperson from the Federation of Quebec women’s shelters says all their Montreal shelters accept trans women regardless of surgical status.
They say it may be that the shelters have simply been full, as they turn down about 2/3rds of the requests for emergency shelter received.