COVID-19’s impact on LGBTQ homelessness
LGBTQ+ people, more specifically youth, are silently struggling as COVID-19 rearranges every inch of our society. The safe spaces they used to frequent are no longer open, the resources they once had access to are increasingly harder to come across, and their independence is waning due to loss of employment and housing. The rates of homelessness within the LGBTQ+ community skyrocketed during the pandemic. As of January 2021, more than 40% of the nation’s homeless youth identify as LGBTQ+ according to North Jersey News. This issue is especially prevalent in low-income communities as well as marginalized communities where economic inequality also aligns with environmental and social disparities.