LGBTQ+ Communities, Coronavirus and Quarantine

In these difficult times, it is important to remember that most LGBTQ+ people do not have a family, church communities or nearby allies to lift them up.

The onset of the Coronavirus came with little time to steel ourselves against the ever shifting circumstances shaping what our lives will look like tomorrow. In our lifetime, most of us have never experienced a global crisis of this magnitude, mired in uncertainties, riddled with implications; and as we huddle on our sofas in front of the television or in bed before the glow of our phones watching it escalate, it can feel utterly terrifying. For everyone.

However, among the most vulnerable to both the emotional and psychological impact are LGBTQ+ people. Our community has spent decades dedicating time and resources into establishing places that are safe for Queer individuals; Community centers, night clubs, peer groups, pride parades. Our focus has been on resisting everything systemic that has attempted to make us invisible and be present in spite of an onslaught of opposition from one sector or another. It has always been the purpose of our earliest advocates to get us out among our LGBTQ+ family; to make the isolation and alienation that all to often accompanies acknowledging one’s sex or gender feel a little less cumbersome. Many folks rely on friends within the community to…