Prairie Dog

From the September 2024 edition of The Prairie Progressive, Iowa’s oldest progressive newsletter. The PP is  funded entirely by reader subscription, available in hard copy for $15/yr.  Send check to PP, Box 1945, Iowa City 52244. Click here for archived issues

Refugees from within

by Rod Sullivan

It was the morning of August 1st. The doorbell rang just after 7:00. I was getting dressed when my wife Melissa said, “There is a young person on our porch who needs to go to GuideLink. I told them you would drive them. Meanwhile, I am charging their cell.”

What? Who? Do I know this person? WTF is going on? (Melissa does this type of thing to me a lot). I finished dressing and went outside. A small person, probably 5’2” and 110
pounds, was standing there with a large backpack. They were wearing a baseball cap and had a scruffy beard. They gave me a big smile. “I’m Adam,” (not their real name) they said. I introduced myself and said, “So I hear you want a ride to GuideLink?” “Yes,” said Adam, “I heard they can help me.”

I told Adam to jump in, and we began driving. I said, “I have to ask—why ring our  doorbell?” Adam quickly replied that they had noticed the Iowa City Pride sign in our yard,
and figured we would be kind. You see, Adam was trans.

Adam began sharing their life story. Born and raised in a tiny town outside of Davenport, they were home-schooled K-12. As they began to figure out who they were, their parents punished them for it. After graduating high school, Adam tried to be themself. Their  parents threw them out of the house.

They have spent the last year just ambling across Iowa. They stayed with some people in Davenport but began getting into drugs. They found a place to sober up in DeWitt but could only stay a couple weeks.  Then there was a big move to Sioux City where they spent some time feeling totally unsafe. Des Moines also did not work out.

They went home for a couple of days, but their parents were upset about the drug use. “Let me guess,” I interjected. “They thought if you just sobered up you would no longer be  trans?” “Exactly!” hollered Adam. They laughed and said, “I’m sorry—I’m just not used to someone understanding my situation.”

After the failed homecoming, they headed to a sober living space in Muscatine. “It was  cool,” said Adam. “They believed in harm reduction. They were very well intentioned.
But no one was getting better, because everyone in the place was still using.” Finally, someone suggested GuideLink in Iowa City. So, Adam found a ride to town. Unfortunately, that led right into a bender.

Adam finished their story just as we pulled up to GuideLink. I gave them my cell number and asked if they wanted me to come in. Adam said no, so I wished them well and drove
to work.

A few hours later my phone rang. It was Adam. The folks at GuideLink were very kind, but they could not really help them. You see, Adam didn’t have any mental health issues, and was totally sober when they arrived. All they needed was a place to live and maybe a  support group, so GuideLink referred Adam to Shelter House. Adam said the folks at  Shelter House were also very kind, but the facility was completely full. They took Adam’s number and said they would be in touch if space became available. Adam was now homeless in Iowa City.

I have mixed emotions about what happened next. Melissa and I already had a young adult staying at our house for a few weeks, waiting for her new lease to start. Our house already
felt crowded. I was secretly hoping Adam would not ask to stay with us. They did not ask. Then I felt even worse! I told Adam to call if they needed something.

When people think about refugees in Johnson County, they typically think of people from Afghanistan, Sudan, Honduras, or some other foreign country. But we have additional types of refugees. The Iowa Republican Party has created a state where many of our refugees are LGBTQ+. And just like refugees from other countries, they have nowhere to live. It is tragic.

I hope we can do something to help house Adam and other refugees from within. As with refugees from other countries, I hope we can work upstream to end the injustices that
make them feel they need to leave their homes. We must do better.

—Rod Sullivan is Chair of the
Johnson County Board of Supervisors