As the Trump administration works to undermine the historic progress made toward full LGBTQ equality, a new report published by the Social Justice Sexuality Project at the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center and co-authored by members of the LGBTQ Poverty Collaborative* highlights a harsh reality: LGBTQ people are more likely than their peers to live in poverty.
The report, “Intersecting Injustice: A National Call to Action Addressing LGBTQ Poverty and Economic Justice for All,” shows how indicators of economic disparity, including food insecurity, housing instability, low-wage earning potential, unemployment, and underemployment, are heightened for LGBTQ communities. As a result, there is a greater need for social safety net programs such as Medicaid, Social Security, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for LGBTQ communities. The report then offers recommendations to help LGBTQ communities and to work toward decreasing some of the many disparities they face. Informed by input from anti-poverty advocates and service providers across the country, this report is a call to action that urges government, nonprofit, and private organizations to consider the needs of low-income LGBTQ communities in their work.
*The LGBTQ Poverty Collaborative is currently composed of members from the following organizations: Center for American Progress, Family Equality Council, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National LGBTQ Task Force, Trans Women of Color Collective, The Vaid Group, Whitman-Walker Health, the Social Justice Sexuality Project at CUNY, and the Williams Institute.
The above excerpt was originally published in Social Justice Sexuality Project.
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