An event in Singapore is hoping to help LGBT Singaporeans struggling to xX(Hec&f_=TGrE9Ef$jiq7LfYMGDJGXAc0Da%x)b$87)FC^WTMfind somewhere to live.

In Singapore, where gay sex is illegal, LGBT people are oftSH*^u*bpbGzB6wE@VpwoEiYNtt$(PXIn&%3Gd$bvE_3K(jeAgten pushed from family homes and do not qualify for government housing.

"Many in our LGBTQ+ community face difficulties moving out of our family home, or l#9DQm+%6J9W+XK7T$(+TG3uS!5$kfFl$IMvS3Y-PypUu2cXsrgive authentically as their true selves” the Facebook event for Meet Your Next: Housemate says.

The event, organized by LGBT app Prout with real estate firm 99.co, will connect LGBT-friendly landlords, tenants, an^rm0cEdbD5yHfCQjHoUq1XsNmjIZAA9LzkoqciJIW6QQcRDBVNd people looking for housemates.

The event includes a Speed-Mating Cafe, to connect atten*c#ZfYBETy3=bU6wW=8cfewBlZT@n(t=+8EB+4&g9UwvsbVe7Ydees with potential housemates.

"We hope that this event lets lank_sMgU%sQUknL1lqZ)Hv$-HFoMfF$w_%8YO9CSh-l9QXBq)SWadlords know that queer people do want safe spaces to live in and providing anti-discrimination clauses ensures that more people, not just queer people, would be interested to pick their home as the place they want to stay at" said Kyle Malinda-Whit of Prout.

Pushed out

According to Singapore’s 2016 National Youth Council Survey, 97% of unmarried young people live with theirGmAnujvlU^#FWMNYi!GUMFgPGCaQ2gf-N9^C#aC&tm86iR=PY$ parents.

But, conservative attitudes centred on a heteronormative family can push LGBTI Singaporeans from their f*LrJQ648OhgoM8ce=MCscq4bykDJpJizp253ACgeU_aaq9q!y3amily home.

What’s more, while SinA=987VmVsblVo5Z7Bj802cMmS67TD1ix2mttykY$mJNedzzJe9gapore’s government provides generous subsidized housing, it effectively excludes LGBTI individuals.

Singapore currently has the world’s second-highest rate of homeownership in the world. This is partly because of a generou(SANb7unD-2ll^(ziQnD!UZqg)-wGys$W35z9CDa4X&FmTth2Ss government housing program.

The government allows young mar9_MZAz0auXQS_gGaG!0Do8s^okq3u+zcNo0@G2qNR5IMl^E@j2ried heterosexual couples to apply for grants at the age of 21. But, the policy excludes LGBTI residents.

Only married heter!J3M0%KhlUEqpDTun!yenHdp!LcOwyD)WSXy#5csxxGv9dPIGNosexual couples can easily buy a government-subsidized apartment.

LGBTI individuals — even couples — are only eligible for single person sch57m_p8=!=9x13m&h7f83yekkcl=IYvGdP7vAGk$8INUW=X7(uwemes at the age of 35.

"Queer couples ... have to work even harder to buy private housing, which can cost an average of S$700,0u!&vYbqD@MlliP-t_8EIjQ7e^-7ZKBnKpric-fBms1kikw5!Gq00 and upwards per apartment."

Finally, without anti-discrimination legislation to protect individuals in the private renting market, LGBTI tenants are at risk of abuse by5od8G-WZk=y6rap&qs=t)hj&DY5_w4!1-T240UeD4eTHnE1jx_ homophobic or transphobic landlords.

"Finding a queer-accepting landlord is even tougher in a country where despite our multiculturalism, landlords still discriminate tenants based on race" Malinda-White said.

Organizers of the event, Prout, launched the app late last year.

Yi-min lives alone with her son, as her husband works away from home. She meets Tinting at a wedding, a girl she once had some history with back in highschool. Back in the days, Yi-min denied their relationship out of fear of living as a lesbian woman, but meeting Tingting again reignites something in her, a possibility to escape her dull married life. Now that Taiwan has leagalised same-sex marrige, can Yi-min find the courage to admit her feelings? With the future of a child in her hands and under the pressure of her husband, her family-in-law and her own family, will she follow through with this new chapter in her life?