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In the United States, it is possible to be unhoused even inside a prison. At the South Central Correctional Center in Tennessee, people sleep in doorways, closets, or even in the showers. “Anywhere that’s pretty much off camera,” said Bishop, a man imprisoned in the facility who chose not to use his last name out of fear of retaliation.

Atticus, another man in the prison, told Truthout he knows at least a couple people living within the prison “who are actually homeless on a more permanent basis, people bouncing around from place to place.” These folks have no bed to sleep in at night, and no place to leave their belongings.

Sources imprisoned at South Central described a different sort of housing crisis, one that takes place inside the walls of the institution that is charged with providing for them. The prison is run by CoreCivic, and, like other CoreCivic prisons in Tennessee, has been the subject of recent investigations because of the rampant violence and extortion that gang members in the prison perpetrate on newer or unaffiliated people. LGBTQ people in the prison say this violence often targets them specifically.

Conditions at South Central are just one example of the broader problem that LGBTQ people face inside prisons, particularly around housing issues. Although prisons claim to take seriously the safety of the people they confine — CoreCivic’s website highlights that they operate “safe facilities” — the people inside tell a very different story.

Instead, people inside are organizing to protect themselves. Bishop and Atticus are both part of an LGBTQ group called Be the Change, which has about 35-40 members in the prison. Be the Change is fighting within the facility for the ability to ensure that LGBTQ people are housed safely, setting an example for prisoner organizing nationwide.

As a Trans Person in Federal Prison, I’m Being Punished for Existing

Contemporary prisons in the United States are generally arranged into several sub-units. Within these large institutions, prisons are subdivided into units and what are known as “pods.” According to prison architects, pods offer a “pie-shape” (as opposed to a straight line of cells) and foster both community and more efficient oversight. People living within a pod together share a common room and other daily living activities, and resident experiences in different pods within the same prison can be very different.

At South Central, units have two pods, each with 60 two-person cells. Two units in particular, Columbia and Discovery, are notorious for being chaotic, violent, and controlled by gangs. The culture of the pod is not only important for a person’s everyday well-being, but when it comes to pods and especially cellmates, it is a critical matter of physical safety as well.

“It’s difficult enough dealing with being locked up on your own, but when you have to go home at night to a little bitty box with someone who you do not get along with, that just makes it all the more complicated.”

“It’s difficult enough dealing with being locked up on your own, but when you have to go home at night to a little bitty box with someone who you do not get along with, that just makes it all the more complicated.”

“It’s difficult enough dealing with being locked up on your own, but when you have to go home at night to a little bitty box with someone who you do not get along with, that just makes it all the more complicated,” said Atticus, who has faced harassment over his bisexual identity.

Having a bad cellmate can be dangerous, even life threatening. Tavaria “Varia” Merritt, a trans woman also imprisoned at South Central, says she has often been called to offer support for LGBTQ people after sexual assaults in the prison, including for folks at risk of suicide.

Safety is a major concern for everyone in prison, but LGBTQ people face unique and heightened risks. Department of Justice statistics show trans people in prison experience sexual violence at more than 12 times the rate of other people in prison. Physical violence, too, is elevated. And........

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