LGBTQ+ People and COVID-19
For some LGBTQ+ students, leaving VCU’s campus during the pandemic may mean being separated from their supportive community. Here are some tips to help.
VCU Queer Virtual Coffee Hour by OMSA
Transgender Law Center is hosting virtual community gatherings
Your Holiday Mom During Social Distancing
Queer Your Queue: Check Out These Livestreamed Performances and Events
Trevor Project's Youth Counselors at the National Center for Transgender Equality are available to young LGBTQ people through online chat, text, or phone
20 Queer Comics to Sink Into in Quarantine
10 LGBTQ+ Films and Movies to Stream this April
55 of the best queer books of 2019
82 queer TV shows to stream on Netflix
Netflix Party (Google Chrome extension to watch Netflix shows at the same time as other people, virtually)
TwoSeven (watch other streaming things, together, virtually!)
The lives of LGBTQ+ people, especially those with multiplicatively targeted identities, are at risk during COVID-19. Many sectors that are heavily impacted by the pandemic, like food service or gig industries, employ LGBTQ+ people.
LGBTQ+ people also face significant economic disparities compared to their peers. Including being poorer, on average, and being less likely to have health insurance coverage, they more often lack the resources they need to stay afloat during times of crisis.
The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs also recently reported that they are already seeing how the pandemic is severely impacting survivors of violence and making many vulnerable to increased violence and discrimination in their own homes. Many of their clients are sheltering in place with the very person who is causing them harm, whether it is an intimate partner, a roommate, or a family member.
The Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University has compiled a list of national, regional, and local safety and harm reduction resources. These resources include information on reporting violence, seeking shelter, navigating the healthcare system, alternatives to carceral-legal interactions (e.g., restorative/transformative justice), and immigration/DACA updates.
Richmond Local LGBTQ+ Direct Support Services
- Health Brigade
- Richmond Mutual Aid
- Side by Side
- Provides youth support groups
- Virginia’s 24/7 LGBTQ+ Hotline
- Call 866-356-6998
- Text 804-793-9999
- Web Chat
- Virginia Anti-Violence Project
National LGBTQ+ Direct Support Services
- Crisis Text Line
- HRC Direct, Online and Phone Support Services for LGBTQ+ Youth
- The Trevor Project
- Talk – 1-866-488-7386
- Text – Text START to 678678
- Online Chat - https://www.thetrevorproject.org/get-help-now/
- Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860
National Toolkits and Resource Lists
- Coronavirus Resource Toolkit
- includes DMV area-specific information
- COVID-19 Collective Care Toolkit
- Database of Localized Resources During COVID 19 Outbreak
- Direct Funds for LGBTQ+ people
- scroll to “Grassroots Funds and Campaigns Providing Direct Relief”
- Online Resources for LGBTQ+ People
Richmond Local Toolkits and Resource Lists
Queeret 7-day Queer Resilience Practice (free)
Peloton App is offering a 90-day free trial (meditation, yoga, and other workouts)
Queering The Path: Journal Prompts to help inspire Folx to work through any anxious feelings they may be experiencing during this time.
Getting emotionally organized during a crisis
Grounding, meditation, and mindfulness techniques from Calm (free)
Resources gathered by American Psychological Association of Graduate Students Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, LGBTQ+ Mentorship Program:
COVID-19: A Black, Queer, Feminist Grounding and Call for Self and Community Care
National LGBT Cancer Network on COVID-19
The Coronavirus (COVID-19): What Trans People Need to Know (includes instructions on binding safely)
Supporting Gender Expansive Students during COVID-19
Trans Legal Defense Fund: Know your Rights During COVID-19
Ithaca College's LGBTQ+ People and COVID-19
How Queer People are Getting Off While Staying In
20 Ways to Financially Support the Queer Community During Coronavirus