The LGBTQ Community And COVID-19

Until recently, COVID-19’s number one safety measure was the stay at home orders coupled with wearing face coverings in any public spaces. However, what was the impact of those orders for the unhoused population? Where other areas of safety compromised by staying at home, if the home was not a safe space for the individual? Lastly, if the person is a member of the LGBTQ community, how did those orders affect them?

As we rush to re-open indoor dining, LA has continued to fail to meet the basic necessities throughout the pandemic for vulnerable populations. This global pandemic does not affect everyone equally, as areas with higher populations of LGBTQ communities, homelessness, and housing insecurities have been hit the hardest by the impact of COVID-19, and blanket safety measures do not protect them, as they do for others.

In the article “LGBT People and Housing Affordability, Discrimination, and

Homelessness”, published by UCLA’s Adam P Romero, Shoshana K Goldberg, and Luis A

Vasquez in 2020, they delve into the major problem of how the LGBTQ community experiences homelessness more than non-LGBTQ people, the factors contributing to this devastating trend, how COVID-19 brings to light the need for new law and policy in the US and they share their recommendations to mitigate these problems.

*Access the article here: https://escholarship.org/content/qt509184bz/qt509184bz.pdf

Kimberly Stack

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