Lesbian alleges shelter left her out in the cold - Pastor denies any discrimination

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070521shelter,1,4220690.story?coll=chi-news-hed

Pastor denies any discrimination

By Matt O'Connor
Tribune staff reporter
Published May 21, 2007, 5:57 AM CDT

The staffer for the homeless shelter didn't seem to understand Michelle Wang's explanation why she needed a place to stay. Wang offered again over the telephone how she had broken up with her girlfriend and moved out of the apartment they shared. The staffer appeared to become agitated, raised her voice and continued to profess confusion, Wang said.

Finally, Wang blurted out that she was a lesbian. The staffer immediately put her on hold. After a long wait, Wang got the word she feared: There were no beds available. She would have to fend for herself for another night in the unseasonably cold fall weather.In complaints with city and state officials and in an expected lawsuit, the 27-year-old Wang alleges New Life Interim Housing, a homeless shelter in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood, discriminated against her on the basis of sexual orientation.

A short time after Wang had been rebuffed by the shelter, the city's Department of Human Services learned from New Life that it still had two beds available that day, according to John Knight, an attorney for the ACLU of Illinois, which is representing Wang.

"I am disturbed that I was denied shelter, left to the cold and the danger because of something so trivial," Wang, now living in a Humboldt Park apartment, said of the Nov. 1 incident.

[rosesaylavee]

1. Good for her

Let them start paying for their prejudice - as obviously appeals to their conscience didn't work.

I heard true Christianity is supposed to return now that the King of Hate (Falwell) is dead. Sure hope so. The golden rule, the beautitudes need to be reviewed by this shelter.

[papau]

2. A court case will clear up the facts - beds actually committed to others -or discrimination

"the shelter's program manager had committed the last two beds to a family but failed to note that in a bed-count record. Relying on that record, another staffer thought the two beds were still available--until the manager alerted her otherwise in the midst of the interview of Wang. A short time later, the city was incorrectly told there were two beds open by a staffer still relying on the inaccurate bed count record"

The months she lived with co-workers rather than paying full rent should have seen some savings develop despite all the rabbit pets and the other pets - plus her living on the street when tossed from co-workers homes makes the girlfriend tossed me story a bit of a lie (true story but not on point as it happened long ago).