Research and community experience tell us that rainbow people are much less likely to seek support from housing services than others who need housing support. Through resourcefulness, resilience and community support, many manage to avoid “needing” services for a period of time.
Rainbow people often face barriers to accessing accessible and safe housing. For example:
Housing services can be places where people experience homophobic and transphobic verbal and physical abuse, both from staff and other service users.
Provider organisations may not have inclusive environments and policies that ensure the services being provided are safe, effective, gender inclusive and culturally appropriate.
Services helping people locate housing can lack understanding of rainbow experiences - for example, minimising young people’s experience of family rejection or violence.
Some services are organised by gender, but offer people services based on the sex they were assigned at birth, and do not accept people’s self-identification. This means transgender people end up having to choose between an environment that is invalidating and unsafe for them or further homelessness.
People working in housing support services don’t often get specific opportunities to learn about how to manaaki and support rainbow clients. Many services don’t incorporate regular training or learning opportunities.
Even if services have done the work to address these issues, rainbow people often have a distrust of housing services because of their own past experiences, or fear of rejection, violence, and victimisation.
Finding suitable housing support can be even harder for people who face other types of barriers - for example if they experience racism, or they’re navigating immigration pathways, or they have disability-related access needs.
Rainbow people will avoid having to deal with these barriers by avoiding services, through instead couch surfing, sleeping rough, or resorting to staying in unsafe or oppressive housing situations such as staying with abusive partners or family members, or trading sex for shelter. When rainbow people access housing services, this is often a last resort.
![Quote: “There are enough horror stories going around about [services] so you don’t risk it. You don’t want to victimise yourself, it’s not worth it.” Sid, non-binary, 20s Vandenburg, 2022](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/608b5bc655f6d26840c9b778/95daa4b5-0364-4510-868d-3e51088c48a4/Screenshot+2026-04-13+203549.png)
Read more about barriers to housing services
Our knowledge brief shares what research tells us about rainbow homelessness and the role of housing and homelessness service organisations.
Our Discovery Research report shares what we learned through talking to people working in Auckland’s housing services and rainbow people with lived experience of homelessness.
Watch our webinars
The first one, recorded in July 2021, is a conversation between Neihana (then Homelessness Support Worker at RainbowYOUTH), Nyx (then project lead for Making Space) and Tycho (researcher looking at transgender homelessness in Aotearoa). Tycho, Nyx and Neihana discuss what rainbow youth homelessness looks like in Aotearoa, barriers to housing and homelessness support, and how services can be safer and more inclusive.
The second webinar shares our design research, and what we were learning about rainbow homelessness in Tāmaki Makaurau through talking to people working in Auckland’s housing services and rainbow people with lived experience of homelessness.
Rainbow people need housing services that are safe and respectful.
When we talked to housing providers through our design research, we heard that service providers have a genuine desire to do better for rainbow people, and recognise the need for change.
Examples of specific things that rainbow clients might need when accessing housing services include:
Protection from staff and other service users when their safety and rights are violated due to discrimination, harassment or violence, including effective complaints and resolution processes.
Having documents and case notes match their chosen name and gender.
Being referred to and known by their chosen name, pronouns, and gender identity.
Confidentiality regarding their sexuality, gender, body, relationships and family circumstances.
An understanding that a person’s chosen whānau may be their most important source of love, care, and belonging, and need to be part of support systems.
Staff with an understanding of healthcare providers or rainbow organisations, who can help direct service users to gender-affirming healthcare, rainbow community groups and events, sexual health services, or other relevant supports.
Support in accessing gender-affirming clothing, makeup, underwear, haircuts, or hair removal.
Gender-neutral facilities such as bathrooms or changing areas.
Understanding of how to support an individual to navigate cultural or access support needs alongside rainbow-related support needs.
Like all clients, rainbow people all have different needs of housing services. If you’re working with an individual, always ask them they need rather than assuming based on what they look like or how they identify.