View the 2015 IRUO Project Report
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IRUO Project Report A behavioral health survey of LGBTQ immigrant, refugee, and undocumented individuals living in Seattle-King County In May 2015, Seattle Counseling Service received funding to identify major barriers LGBTQ- identified immigrant, refugee, and undocumented individuals face in accessing behavioral health services in the Seattle-King County area. In addition to identifying these barriers, the Immigrant, Refugee, and Undocumented Outreach (IRUO) Project seeks to address how local service agencies can work in collaboration with community partners to eliminate these barriers and improve access to services for this community. IRUO Project Report Asian Counseling and Referral HopeLink Office of Refugee Resettlement Seattle Goodwill Service (ACRS) Horn of Africa One America Seattle Globalist Asylum Connect Ingersoll Gender Center Oye Producciones Seattle Public Library Cascade Housing Foundation Intercommunity Peace and Justice Pacific Hospital Preservation St. James Immigrant Assistance Center and Development Authority Center for Multicultural Health Story Corps/NPR City of Seattle LGBT Commission International Community Health People of Color Against Aids Swedish Health Services Services Network City of Seattle LGBTQ Employee Tisocco Immigration Law Group International Rescue Committee Pecha Chuka Seattle Tuberculosis Control Program, City of Seattle/ Latino City Immigration Equality QPOC Seattle Prevention Division Employees Japanese American Citizens Pride Foundation University of Washington League (JALC) City of Seattle/Council Central Staff Pride Asia Department of Geography Columbia Public Health Center Jewish Family Service/Refugee Q Card Project University of Washington School Support Network Connexion Contigo Refugee Health Promotion / of Law Juan Alonso Estudio Consulado de Mexico Lutheran Community Services University fo Washington School Juvenile Justice Disproportionality of Social Work Clinica Legal del Pueblo Refugee Women's Alliance Steering Committee University of Washington EMP Museum Rockwood Leadership Institute La Raza Commission College of Education Entre Hermanos Safe Schools Coalition Life Long Univeristy of Washington Ethnic Sea-Mar Community Clinic Equal Rights Washington Cultural Center Living Care Evergreen Community College Seattle Central Community Lutheran Community Services Urena Law Office,PLLC College Fresh Baked Northwest,International Washington State Department of South Seattle Community Gay City Counseling & Community Services Public Health College GSBA Northwest Immigrant Rights Washington State Department of South Park Information and Project Public Health / TB Program Harborview Medical Center Referral Center Northwest Network World Affairs Council The IRUO Project IRUO Project Report Contents Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 2 The IRUO Project ..................................................................................................................................... 4 Lessons Learned Reaching Out .............................................................................................................. 4 Language, Identity and Gender ............................................................................................................ 5 Immigration Status ................................................................................................................................. 5 Outreach Materials ................................................................................................................................. 5 Service Providers .................................................................................................................................... 6 Survey Findings ................................................................................................................................................... 7 Demographics ............................................................................................................................................. 7 Length of Time in the U.S. ......................................................................................................................... 8 Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity ............................................................................................... 10 Community Acceptance .......................................................................................................................... 10 Behavioral Health ..................................................................................................................................... 11 Substance Abuse and Gambling ............................................................................................................. 11 What Service Providers Can Do ............................................................................................................. 12 Recommendations ............................................................................................................................................ 13 References ........................................................................................................................................................... 15 Glossary of Terms ............................................................................................................................................ 16 The IRUO Project 1 IRUO Project Report IRUO Project Report LGBTQ A behavioral health survey of LGBTQ immigrant, immigrant, refugee, and undocumented individuals living in refugee, and undocumented Seattle-King County individuals in the U.S. Introduction LGBT immigrants Migration and movement have historically played a role in represent an immensely diverse population as homosexual activity, same-sex love, and the overall human the community is experience. Despite LGBTQ individuals having increasingly gained comprised of both legal rights and protections over the last century around the world, individuals coming this community continues to face pervasive discrimination and from all over the world human rights violations. Consequently, LGBTQ individuals are not and individuals who only displaced due to war and natural disasters, but also as the currently reside in all regions of the United result of legal prosecution, social exclusion, and/or violence because States. of their sexual orientation or gender expression. In search of a place where they can safely live and love, LGBTQ1 individuals often leave Compared to all their families, home, and community behind, and travel to the undocumented United States. Whether traveling with or without proper immigrants, LGBT undocumented authorization, this journey is never easy, free of danger, nor immigrants are less accessible to all. For the few that complete it, new and unexpected likely to be Latino/a hardships often accumulate as the difficulty of obtaining housing, (71% vs 77%) and more employment, education, legal documents, and community are likely to be Asian or realized in light of xenophobic trends in the U.S. Pacific Islanders (15% vs 11%). They are also Unfortunately, very little is known about the needs and conditions in more likely to be male which LGBTQ immigrant, refugee, and undocumented individuals live (67% vs 57%) and under once they arrive to the United States. According to the Center for 30 years old (49% vs American Progress, the State Department does not collect data about 30%). the number of LGBT refugees who are resettled in the United States (Gates, 2013) 1 In academic literature and across the world there are a myriad of acronyms used in reference to the community of individuals who identify as gender or sexual orientation nonconforming. While “LGBT” has historically been conventional, “LGBTQ” or “Queer” have become more widely accepted by members of the community because they are more inclusive of all gender nonconforming identities or sexual orientations. For the purposes of this report, we use LGBT and LGBTQ interchangeably to accommodate changes in terminology over time and best represent the intended community of the various organizations being referenced. The IRUO Project 2 IRUO Project Report and as a result is unable to determine where most LGBT refugees are coming from. However, United Nations U.S. ambassador Samantha Power estimates that in recent years, the U.S. has resettled between 75 and 100 LGBT refugees annually (Gruberg, 2015). In another report prepared for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Refugee Resettlement (ORR), the Heartland Alliance estimates that around 3,500 LGBT refugees arrive in the country annually, with another 1,250 receiving asylum each year (Heartland Alliance, 2012). Although LGBT immigrants who move to the U.S. to escape prosecution or unstable living conditions are potentially eligible for asylum status, those who move outside the official resettlement process are typically excluded from governmental estimates of LGBT immigrants and therefore suggests State Department estimates are likely low. The Williams Institute estimates that about 904,000 LGBT adult immigrants reside in the U.S. today, approximately 30% of whom are undocumented (Gates, 2013). Importantly, this data implies that of the roughly 9 million LGBT adults in the U.S., at least 10% of them are foreign-born immigrants. In addition, data suggests that both documented and