Fresh FEMA outrage over taxpayer-funded 'equity' seminar to discuss plight of transgender migrants

A resurfaced video of a FEMA seminar has sparked fury aft panelists were criticized for suggesting catastrophe preparedness policies should beryllium tailored to transgender migrants.

The March 2023 discussion, titled 'Helping LGBTQIA+ Survivors Before Disasters', saw FEMA's Pride group's manager of acquisition Reilly Hirst sermon the concerns 'migrant transwomen' person successful seeking shelter.

She suggested that trans migrants mightiness conflict to find accommodations astatine faith-based shelters, 'because of the mode they’ve been responded to successful the past'.

FEMA's attack to catastrophe absorption has travel nether scrutiny pursuing its effect to Hurricane Helene, which saw astatine slightest 230 radical killed and thousands much displaced crossed the southbound east.

And with the perchance deadly Hurricane Milton owed to tube into Florida this afternoon, galore person been raising concerns astir FEMA's priorities. 

 'This is what Hurricane Helene victims are up against,' Republican Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote connected X arsenic she reposted a clip from the webinar.

 'FEMA Training Director is acrophobic astir faith-based shelters misgendering "migrant transwomen.” 

'These are the unqualified idiots utilizing FEMA catastrophe alleviation funds to location migrants and FAILING occidental NC Hurricane Helene victims. They hatred Christians.'

According to Hirst, trans migrants could look barriers to receiving assistance owed to favoritism oregon unit successful exigency shelters, the breakdown of their enactment networks, deficiency of entree to national alleviation and spiritual blame. 

She told an anecdote astir a lesbian mates who struggled to find accommodation unneurotic successful the aftermath of a hurricane until they pretended to beryllium sisters.

But Hirst's stance was slammed online, with galore accusing her of inappropriately prioritizing DEI.

'Maybe rescue radical trapped successful destroyed upland towns. That'd beryllium nice,' 1 idiosyncratic said.

'What ever happened to staging for a catastrophe similar this?' different asked. 'Stockpiling goods, instrumentality and unit successful cardinal areas. Helping catastrophe victims by being prepared. 

 'Managing volunteers and welcoming them successful for quicker response. Our authorities needs to beryllium fixed and shrinking mightiness marque it much effective. '

The backlash against FEMA comes arsenic the bureau faces allegations it ran retired of wealth aft spending billions trying to code the migrant crisis. 

In the past 2 years, FEMA - the Federal Emergency Management Agency - has reportedly handed retired implicit $1 cardinal of payer dollars to money the lodging of amerciable immigrants.

This fig sparked outrage successful the aftermath of Helene, with residents successful flood-hit North Carolina claiming the effect from FEMA has near them disappointed and relying connected volunteers.

FEMA has denied inappropriate allocation of funds.

Hirst's comments were made successful the wider discourse of  FEMA webinars connected catastrophe preparedness successful which the sheet discussed 'focusing efforts connected LGBTQIA+' victims. 

'LGBTQIA people, and radical who person been disadvantaged already, are struggling,' moderator Tyler Atkins said.

 'They already person their ain things to woody with. So erstwhile you adhd a catastrophe connected apical of that, it’s conscionable compounding connected itself.'

The sheet talked astir moving distant from catastrophe alleviation which benefits the highest fig of radical successful favour of 'disaster equity'. 

'The displacement we’re seeing close present is simply a displacement successful exigency services from utilitarian principles — wherever everything is designed for the top bully for the top magnitude of radical — to catastrophe equity. But we person to bash more,' said Maggie Jarry of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

She added that the existent policies successful spot are, 'actually biased successful benign neglect oregon intentional erasure of the circumstantial communities that are astir apt astir successful request of those services'.