HRC Back Story

And now, a word from John Lake, HRC's Director of Corporate Relations:

On Tuesday I attended the Chase National Housing Advisory Council meeting in Iselin, New Jersey.  This is an annual event held by Chase, the global financial services firm and an HRC National Partner, to explore ways to better serve emerging markets.  My first question was, how can they consider the GLBT community an “emerging market”? We all spend way too much time talking about real estate and everyone knows a gay or lesbian real estate agent or two. Or twenty. Well, according to their research, the GLBT community actually represents a disproportionate amount of renters and a lower percentage of homeownership than the non-GLBT market.  Who knew?

So I had the honor of representing the GLBT voice alongside some pretty amazing people from organizations doing great work raising homeownership rates in the African-American, Asian and Hispanic communities.  It was an eye-opening and lively session, especially given the current state of affairs in the mortgage market. The headlines are all accurate that many people are losing their homes out there, with a disproportionate amount happening in communities of color. It is reassuring to know that steps are being taken to address some of the most pressing needs – both through legislative efforts of advocacy organizations, and through the work of non-profits such as NeighborWorks, who was also represented at the event.

When it comes to our community, I made the point that unless we are lucky enough to live in the great state of Massachusetts, same-sex relationships are not given the same validation as married couples and for many of us, owning a home with a long-term partner is the closest we can come to that part of the “American Dream.” Because of the lack of marriage protections, we have to jump through a different and more complicated set of hoops to ensure the same protections and tax advantages as our straight friends. Setting up trusts, getting the wills correct, and other efforts get us close to the goal, but it still falls short.  Again, the obvious question comes up: Wouldn’t it just be so much easier to allow us to get married?

It’s great to see companies like Chase giving the GLBT community a seat at the table and actually listening. Corporate America continues to pave the way to respond to the “special needs” of our community.  There is obviously a market-driven aspect to this, but hopefully it will help move the LGBT community to a place where our needs aren’t “special” and are met in exactly the same way as every other believer in the “American Dream.”