Community homes welcome LGBTQIA+ people throughout Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – According to a report by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Association (ILGA), Brazil ranks first in the Americas in the number of homicides of LGBT people and is also the world leader in the murder of transgender people.

Casa Florescer shelter center receives transsexual and transvestite women in situations of social vulnerability, due to family coexistence issues due to their gender identity, lack of opportunities, and prejudice.

“I had the opportunity to dream again, something I didn’t have anymore, something that the street didn’t give me,” said nursing student Andreia Bessa.

INITIATIVES

Casa Florescer operates two units in São Paulo and is part of the Brazilian Network of Shelters (REBRACA). In total, there are 20 homes located in several regions of Brazil.

According to Casa Florescer’s manager and founder Alberto Silva, “many facilities were struggling with food.”

Casa Miga, in Manaus, assists transgenders, transvestites, refugees and immigrants, and is the only one focused on the LGBTQIA+ population in the North Region.

The center has the capacity to serve 16 people simultaneously. In addition to housing and food, the home invests in training, discussion groups, and legal guidance. Each resident stays for an average of 3 to 6 months, and there is currently a 24-people waiting list.

Casa Miga’s manager Karen Arruda said that “the profile of the people sheltered are LGBT individuals in a socially vulnerable situation or people who have been forced out of their homes.”

Some of the shelters receive government assistance, such as Casa Florescer, which is supported by the São Paulo City Hall. Others subsist on donations and networks of collaborators, such as Casa Miga.

“The assistance the home provides me is a family support, we have several people together, forming a family,” said community educator Maya Alvarenga, who lives in the Manaus shelter.

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