When Lindsay Church left the Navy in 2012 after serving under the U.S. government’s infamous “don’t ask, don’t tell ”policy, they experienced a painful crisis of identity.

“I really struggled with, am I a veteran, or am I queer? And if I’m a veteran, I can’t be queer because they hate me here,” says Church, who since co-founded Minority Veterans of America, a nonprofit serving veterans who identify as gender, racial or religious minorities. “In the queer community, [they] thought of us as police… I was a linguist.”

Now, Church is drawing on their own experience as a trans veteran to open Q’mmunity House, a new transitional housing program in Seattle for unhoused and housing-insecure LGBTQ veterans. The initiative by Minority Veterans of America is funded by Seattle’s Veterans, Seniors and Human Services Levy.

In the U.S., veterans are more likely than the general population to experience homelessness. The risk factor increases for veterans who are LGBTQ, trans or people of color. There are an estimated 35,574 unhoused veterans in the U.S. and 750 in King County where Seattle is located.

LGBTQ veterans in King County can apply online for one of five spots and the house will hopefully officially open by mid-November. Those who are not initially selected will be placed on a waiting list for rooms that open up as participants move into permanent housing.

Residents will live in the house for six to 18 months. In addition to stable housing, the program provides case management and wraparound resources for healing, growth and reintegration, connecting residents to both the veteran and LGBTQ communities in Seattle.

The house is designed by and for LGBTQ veterans and surrounded by nature with trees and a community garden. It’s meant to be a safe and tranquil space where residents can heal and reintegrate into post-service life.

“As a person who has many scars from this experience being both trans and a military veteran, that healing part is how I maintain stability in the future,” Church says. “Our whole goal is really about permanent and stable housing for the rest of their lives.”

The interior is even painted in neutral rainbow colors, with the blue and green rooms downstairs accessible to people with mobility disabilities, including people who use wheelchairs.

“[It’s] not egregious colors,” they tell Next City. “You don’t walk through and you’re like, ‘Oh my god, I just got hit by a rainbow.”

“I really think people are gonna struggle at first to realize it’s for them, but when they do, I really hope that they know that this home is built with every intention for them.”

Why Q’mmunity House?

There is a lack of housing programs specifically for LGBTQ veterans, says Church, even as they face unique challenges with the reintegration process after leaving the military.

Before “don’t ask, don’t tell” was repealed in 2011, military service members faced discipline and dishonorable discharge for openly identifying as gay, lesbian or queer. The policy forced LGBTQ service members to hide a crucial part of their identities or risk being expelled and losing access to benefits like housing, healthcare and education. Even today, thousands of the more than 13,000 veterans discharged under “don’t ask, don’t tell” have yet to upgrade their discharge status.

“Why would you?” Church asks. “An institution that cast you away, that told you that your service didn’t matter, or that you did the wrong thing by serving the military and you’re [being] LGBTQ is your only crime — why would you go back?”

This means that even though resources might be available, LGBTQ veterans might not be able to access them due to their discharge status under “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Traditional homeless shelters, even those targeted to veterans, can be hostile places for LGBTQ people.

“People are opting for unsheltered homelessness because it’s easier and there’s more perceived safety in not being in a shelter than there is in unsheltered housing,” says Church.

What’s needed, they believe, are programs targeted to the unique needs of LGBTQ veterans. Q’mmunity House aims to be the start of a new kind of veteran housing program in the U.S. — programs tailored to different populations.

Minority Vets is working with the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans to create a toolkit for creating other spaces where unhoused veterans can heal.

“My goal is not to just say, like, we want 1,000 LGBTQ veteran transitional houses,” says Church. “I actually want to see — race, gender, sexual orientation — a broader availability of resources that are tailored to meet the unique identities and needs of those communities.”

Many veterans struggle to find the same community that they had in the military. That’s one thing that sets the Q’mmunity House apart — the opportunity to find belonging as both a veteran and a queer person.

“We want to encourage that healing around being a part of something again,” says Church. “And allow people that space to be in community with one another in the places that they live, and to know that it can be safe to do so.”

This story was produced through our Equitable Cities Fellowship for Social Impact Design, which is made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.