Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) have faced systemic, social, and health inequities in the U.S. since its inception. Historically, BIPOC communities have been disparately impacted by strategic practices of geographic isolation by race and ethnicity, laws aimed at controlling housing affordability or the locations where specific racial populations are housed, and growing wealth and resource gaps. Factors such as these have contributed to the continuous overrepresentation of specific racial and ethnic communities in the homeless system. The existing inequities in earning, employment, health, and social conditions have been exacerbated by COVID-19, and the pandemic has increased the risk for BIPOC to need assistance from the homeless response system. Information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows connections between higher rates of hospitalization or death from COVID-19 in specific BIPOC communities and the historical oppressions faced by these communities.
Equity Capacity Building: Hiring, Supervision, Training
Categories:
Anti-Racism, Clinical Practice, Ethical and Cultural Issues, Homeless Services, Justice, Equity, Diversion, and Inclusion (JEDI)