Homeless shelters get training on gay issues

Homeless shelters across Chicago are getting a crash course in how to better serve members of the gay community.

The Chicago Department of Human Services is conducting four days of mandatory sensitivity training at the Center on Halsted, the city's gay community center.

About 160 people are attending the training, which includes sessions on the barriers faced by members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and the effects of prejudice, said Lisa Elkuss, communications director for the human services department.

"We're all really very pleased that this is taking place," Elkuss said Monday. "We're glad that things have evolved to this point, and we're pleased with the response of the shelters."

She said the department hasn't faced any opposition to the training from the shelters and that operators are looking for ways to improve service.

The training is also intended to reinforce how shelters can comply with the city's human rights ordinance, Elkuss said. The ordinance prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

William Greaves, the city's liaison to the gay and lesbian community, said the human services department worked with advocates in the gay community to develop a nondiscrimination statement and guidance for shelters.

He said the need for such a training shows that the gay community, often perceived as more well-off than the population at large, is economically diverse.

"The gay community is as heterogeneous as every other community," Greaves said. "Unfortunately, some members of our community face having to become clients of homeless shelters in order to survive, and it's important that those shelters treat them with the same dignity and respect that they treat everyone else."