Giving Compass' Take:

• Elliott Kozuch recounts a recent statement from the Human Rights Campaign, calling for congress to address the disparate effects of COVID-19 on marginalized populations, like the LGBTQ community.

• What will it take for marginalized populations to receive equitable legislation towards coronavirus protection? What are you doing to encourage policy that protects LGBTQ and ethnic minority communities?

• Find resources to guide you along your coronavirus giving path.

Alphonso David, President of HRC, issued a statement on the disproportionate impact COVID-19 is having on marginalized populations and called on Congress to take this impact into account in future stimulus bills.

“As in all emergencies, the most vulnerable are the most at risk during the COVID-19 crisis,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “Data is emerging showing Black communities are contracting and dying from the virus at particularly high rates and our own research shows the economic and health impacts this pandemic may have on LGBTQ people.

“We cannot ignore the role that bias plays in health disparities, and for that reason HRC has long called for inclusive data collection to ensure that all people are counted. Today, we call on every state to collect more data so that we can truly measure the impact on those most at risk and respond with prevention and treatment strategies that work. We call on Congress to take this impact into account in future stimulus packages so that we can urgently meet the needs of our communities.”

HRC recently published a research brief outlining the particular health and economic risks faced by the LGBTQ community during the COVID-19 public health crisis. Many in the LGBTQ community are uniquely vulnerable, as they are more likely to work jobs in highly affected industries, often with more exposure and/or higher economic sensitivity to the COVID-19 crisis, are less likely to have health coverage, and are more likely to smoke and have chronic illnesses like asthma.

The federal government is failing to address or even acknowledge the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on people of color and the LGBTQ community.

Read the full article about protecting marginalized populations by Elliott Kozuch at Human Rights Campaign.