Poverty rates among minorities and LGBT adults in the US have historically been higher than the caucasian and straight, cisgender population. That trend seems to have continued or worsened during the pandemic.
According to Columbia University’s Poverty Tracker, the poverty rate in February 2022 was 21.3 percent among Latinos, 21.1 percent among blacks, and 10.7 percent among whites. In an August 2021 Census survey, 36.6 percent of LGBT adults reported that their household had trouble covering household expenses in the previous seven days, compared to 26.1 percent of non-LGBT adults. Nearly 20 percent of LGBT adults also reported that their household had lost employment income in the past four weeks. For non-LGBT adults, 16.8 percent reported income loss.
It’s clear that poverty doesn’t discriminate. Neither, then, should we. Keep reading to learn how we at Community Action Services are doing our best to lower the barriers for people to get out of poverty.
No Discrimination
Whether someone comes to us for help improving their financial or housing situation, receiving food or other emergency assistance, planting a garden, or finding a commercial kitchen space, we want to help. We don’t care about an applicant’s race, sexual orientation, or country of origin. None of those things ever prevent someone from joining our programs and services.
In most cases, citizenship and legal residency don’t matter either. One or two of our housing programs require documentation, but most don’t. We don’t want anyone to be homeless or hungry because they don’t have the right paperwork or were born somewhere else.
Spanish Programs and Services
In 2021, 14.4 percent of Utahns reported being of Latino or Hispanic origin. The latest American Community Survey also says that 10.3 percent of Utahns speak Spanish at home. We want to serve this population better. That’s why, thanks to a grant from the Intermountain Healthcare Community Partner Fund we offer a Spanish version of our website and many of our programs and services.
To get our Spanish website and find programs in Spanish, select “Spanish” in the right corner of our website. From there, you’ll find everything we offer in Spanish. We also have Spanish speakers on staff to help clients.
Poverty doesn’t care about race, ethnicity, country of origin, or sexual identity, and we don’t either. That’s why we don’t discriminate in our programs and services and offer Spanish versions of our website and courses. If you’re interested in learning more about how to get help, click here for assistance in Spanish or here for English.