“This isn't a fairy tale we're talking about; this is our real lives”: Community‐orientated responses to address trans and gender diverse homelessness

Abstract

Globally, trans and gender diverse people contend with day-to-day exclusion, discrimination, and marginalisation, often culminating in experiences of poverty and homelessness. In this discussion article, we outline a bricolage research orientation rooted in liberation and Indigenous approaches brought into dialogue with the broader cannon of community psychology for meaningful research with homeless trans and gender diverse people. Such an approach transcends rigid disciplinary divides and shapes a framework for collaborative action, advocacy, and social change. We argue that scholar-activism, social justice, and relationality and collaboration should inform every stage of the research process and beyond when engaging with minoritized communities.

Actionable research for understanding and addressing homelessness

“…In fact, at least three articles were authored by individuals with lived experience, and many included community member authors. Vandenburg et al (2021) challenge community psychologists to engage in solidarity and relationship-building with minoritized communities, arguing for a "bricolage research orientation,"-a relational, immersive collaborative approach rooted in liberation and Indigenous psychologies. Similarly, Hodgetts et al (2021) argue that building reciprocal relationships with people experiencing homelessness is essential to any research project on homelessness and provide helpful guidance on relational ethics in homelessness research.…”

“You’re the One That Was on Uncle’s Wall!”: Identity, Whanaungatanga and Connection for Takatāpui (LGBTQ+ Māori)

“…Further, it persists in promoting the idea of Indigenous communities as fixed and belonging to the past, as opposed to being innovative and adaptive to our needs over time. The ongoing colonisation of Indigenous peoples perpetuates inequities which privilege white, cisgender bodies and intellects, while degrading Indigenous gender and sexual diversity (Abustan 2015;Vandenburg et al 2021). The embodiment of such ideologies is experienced when Indigenous peoples view themselves as bodies, without intellect and incapable of self-governance (Finley 2011).…”

“…Creative methods of engagement were woven together through a bricolage research praxis. The term bricolage has etymological foundations in the French expression describing a craftsperson who inventively shapes new objects using only the tools and materials 'at-hand' (Vandenburg et al 2021). The origins of bricolage research and researcher-asbricoleur can be traced to the works of Lévi-Strauss (1966), who drew upon the metaphor of 'intellectual bricolage' to signify creative practices of human meaning making and knowledge production.…”

“…Participating young people led interviews with the images they produced to direct researcher attention to specific issues, influence the analytic process and potentially extend research implications (cf. Vandenburg et al 2021). Further, during the photo-elicitation interview, participants are invited into a reflexive reading of their images during which they assume a panoramic view of their positioning (such as gender, sexuality, culture, class) and relationality to the object(s) of inquiry and wider context (Hodgetts et al 2011;Freire 1970).…”

“…We treat photo-elicitation as a creative dialogical practice, where photographs act as mimetic objects that facilitate a process of negotiation and meaning making between young people and ourselves as researchers (Hodgetts et al 2018). The mimetic nature of visual objects-that photographs are an act of imitation or reflection of participant lifeworlds-necessitates processes of participant engagement and analysis that goes beyond 'first impression' and extends beyond the frame (Vandenburg et al 2021). Here, the researcher-as-bricoleur, in collaboration with participating young people, works to assemble multiple methods, meanings and concepts when interpreting images and talk.…”