No Place Like Home

Transgender co-op is a model for Boston’s home-seekers in transition

Ava Glasscott is on a mission. Glasscott, the first transgender Boston Pride Parade Marshal (in 2019), intends to make sure the law protects her and all people like her. She wants to see the day when everyone in the trans community feels inclusive in society.

Glasscott is also the reigning Miss Trans Massachusetts. She stood shoulder to shoulder with Governor Charlie Baker and other Bay State dignitaries on the same podium where she gave a speech on behalf of the LGBTQ community. She’s also appeared in Amy Schumer’s Movie, “I Feel Pretty,” she has a cameo in Mark Wahlberg’s upcoming film, “Wonderland.”

Before Glasscott evolved into the statuesque role model she is today, she traveled difficult roads and had to climb over barbed wire obstacles. When asked her to recount some of her painful stories, she replied, with tear-filled eyes, there were too many to tell, but she mentioned an employer who upon finding out she was a transwoman, fired her on the spot and kicked her out of the hair salon where she Ava Glasscott

worked as a stylist and makeup artist for over three months.

Glasscott grew up in a home with a loving family, was painfully shy as a child and was bullied throughout school because she identified as female. Asked her how she overcame her shyness, she replied, “It was hard work.”

Clearly, Glasscott works hard at everything she does, and one of these things is outreach to a transgender cooperative that the author of this article and her husband have owned for many years. Glasscott reaches out to everyone at the coop, taking special interest in helping young people so that they will not have to experience the pain she endured.

A model home

The coop is a wonderful example of how a group of young likeminded trans adults and their partners navigate their way through the difficult process of securing rental housing in Boston while transitioning. “Sam,” a documentary filmmaker from Central Massachusetts and a transwoman in her twenties, is the designated spokesperson for the co-op, which dates back to the mid-1980s. Like the others living in the co-op, Sam prefers not to reveal her identity and location of their home for safety concerns. As Sam recalls, the cooperative began as happy hippy house

occupied by college graduate students and professors who were mostly straight, and morphed into what it is today—a normal, everyday, large, unassuming, two family home on a quiet side street where about ten adults reside.

What sets it apart from many other similar-looking homes, at least on the outside, is how the current residents feel free to express their sexual identity without prejudice. Sam emphasized that what makes it especially nice for them is, while undergoing one’s metamorphosis there is unconditional acceptance. The original occupants married, started families or relationships ended, and eventually they all moved out, allowing it to evolve into what it is today. As each person left, they replaced themselves with someone else to help maintain the cooperative’s valued equilibrium.

Preserved by this long-term process is a place where someone can move in without having to jump over the traditional hurdles usually experienced renting somewhere else in Boston. There is no rental agent’s fee, no security deposit required because the cooperative is long

established, and a landlord (my husband Harvey) who is open-minded and makes each new applicant feel welcome—a major plus for many transgender housing hunters.

The success of the cooperative was achieved without aid or intervention from a nonprofit or any kind of subsidy. But the cooperative is very much an exception to what’s really out there. It’s virtually impossible for someone to be accepted as a tenant without a previous tenancy, otherwise known as a Catch-22.

The application hurdle

Once an apartment is selected, the first step is the rental application, which qualifies the applicant. It asks basic questions: name, address, date of birth, social security number, previous addresses, etc. To a young person amid transition, this is the first big hurdle. For a transman it appears to be easier on the surface because it’s more of a norm for a woman to undergo a name change whether it be for marriage, divorce or death of a spouse, but the dance steps for a transwoman sets off all sorts of alarms, as it was almost unheard of in our society for a man to undergo a name change, unless it’s for a nefarious reason. To quote Bob Thaves’ Frank and Ernest’s comic strip about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, “Sure he was great, but don’t forget, she just did it backwards and in high heels.”

Overcoming the hurdle

Setting out to solve this particular part of our housing problem, we spoke with Jim Major, the president of GRAR (Greater Boston Association of Realtors), who coincidentally is on the forms committee for Massachusetts Association of Realtors and The Forms Content Advisory Board.

I asked him if he was aware there appeared to be a glitch on the standard application form, making it problematic for a person in transition to receive a fair background check based on their personal information. He replied that he wasn’t and had an “aha” moment when he realized the difficulties facing a trans person filling out the standardized form. In today’s rental process, it is a basic

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requirement to run an identity and background check and if there’s a mismatch on the name, then a red flag goes up. Simply put, when an entirely different person’s history emerges on the credit report that’s dissimilar from the name on the application, it appears to the person reviewing the application to be a stolen identity. Additionally, during a background check, a trans person’s employer may have no idea who the inquiring person (landlord or management company) is referring to because that person could work there under a different name, making

Do’s and Don’ts for Transgender Renters Suggestions from the landlords of the trans cooperative (my husband and me)

acceptance for the apartment unattainable for the person in transition.

Major was most appreciative of being made mindful of the problem and admitted that it was an oversight by him and the committee, as it was never discussed before or intended to impede anyone from obtaining housing. Since our original interview, the forms committee has met, voted on and changed the rental application to accommodate members of the trans community—proudly brought about by Jim Major’s interview with me while working with Boston Spirit magazine. Hopefully this flaw in the application

James Major

Don’t crash long-term at a friend or lover’s house and pay the rent through someone else! It can leave a person vulnerable and with no rights in the event of a relationship breakup or an eviction. If not already on the lease, pay the portion of the rent directly to the landlord and ask to be added to the lease to guarantee a legal place of residence. Otherwise, getting a landlord reference in the future becomes the tin can that’s kicked down the road. Things to do: Once you’re added to a lease with roommates try to create a group checking account to pay the bills and be aware if someone in the group is delinquent because in most cases the rent is owed jointly and severally. Always have enough money in the account in case one person’s check bounces to cover for the entire group. When applying for

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paradigm will light the way for changes to job applications, car loans, credit card and bank applications. After Jim Major considered the importance of fixing this glitch, he realized why the equal housing laws that should protect all members the LGBTQ community had failed some of its members.

Words to move you

Additionally, Sam corroborated that for trans people experiencing the application process there seems to be a tremendous apprehension to reveal oneself and a palpable fear of rejection which contributes to the problem. (See “Do’s and Don’ts for Transgender Renters” on this page.)

Chris Viveiros, director of communications at Fenway Health reinforced Sam’s observation: “Creating a secure home base for a young person is not only supportive of good overall physical health, but it also contributes to better mental health.”

As for Glasscott, she believes it’s easier today than it was when she was a struggling teenager with few role models. She clarified there’s much further to go and

Ask Others for Help

Sam was asked to pick one piece of advice to give to someone newly arrived in Boston who is in transition. His answer was to look up the website for Fenwayhealth.org. There’s information about how to legally change one’s name, navigate through the RMV, getting a passport with a new name, low income housing and tons of other information. These are the basic necessities for cited examples: She would like to be cast as a female actress and not pigeonholed as a transwoman actress or model. She emphasized she has the same dreams and desires as any young woman—a happy marriage to a loving husband, a nice home with a big kitchen where she can cook to her hearts content, and to have healthy children.

But first, one must find their own place to call home. [x] Elyse Wilk is a landlord and real estate developer with her husband Harvey Wilk, a mother, grandmother, writer and

an apartment don’t be timid, speak up and answer all the questions honestly, concisely and most important proudly. Don’t be afraid to tell the landlord or management company about a name and gender change, always use the correct legal name on a lease, and don’t worry because that’s why there are discrimination laws!

proud child of a wonderful gay dad (may he rest in peace). opening a bank account, driving a car, filling out an application for a job, an apartment or obtaining a mortgage to buy a home.

Finding an affordable apartment in Boston is daunting and although there are even more hurdles to jump over (possibly in high heels) for a person transitioning, please always remember to be fearless and never apologetic. —EW

Your financial needs are unique.

Brian K. Gerhardson, CFP® Certified Financial Planner Private Wealth Advisor South End Wealth Management 546 Tremont St Boston, MA 02116 617.426.3416 brian.k.gerhardson@ampf.com SouthEndWealthManagement.com CA Insurance #0D35502

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