Anyone can experience homelessness, but certain populations are disproportionately represented. For example, while only 7% of youth in the United States identify as LGBTQ, up to 40% of homeless youth in the United States identify as LGBTQ.
These findings are consistent with research that has found that LGBTQ young people, ages 18 to 25, are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than young people that do not identify as LGBTQ. The homeless have a unique set of challenges when it comes to protecting themselves from COVID-19. Furthermore, there are some people groups that are over-represented in the homeless population LGBT youth and young people among them.
The impact of COVID-19 on the homeless community may not have crossed your mind. But it is important to understand that the homeless are a vulnerable population when it comes to COVID-19, in part because they are often required to receive shelter and services in places that make social distancing exceedingly difficult if not impossible.
