How poverty impacts the mental health of LGBTQIA+ people
Today, we’re going to discuss the implications of financial inequality and poverty on the mental health of the LGBTQIA+ community. We will also cover why these issues impact LGBTQIA+ people more harshly than they do cisgender and heterosexual people. So, let us dive in.
Financial Inequality
It’s no secret that minorities around the world face financial inequality. Societal standards vary by country. For the United States, that standard is white, male, heterosexual, middle-upper class, healthy, and able-bodied.
If you live in the United States and do not match that standard to a T, you likely face financial inequality in some fashion. For the LGBTQ+ community, there are many forms. These include unemployment, pay gaps, workplace discrimination, housing favoritism, and banking discrimination. In terms of pay gaps, inequality is vast.
According to the Center for American Progress (CAP) and the Movement Advancement Project (MAP), for every $1.00 a man in an opposite-sex union earns, a woman in a same-sex marriage makes $0.79. A man in a same-sex marriage makes $0.98.
Something to note: Even in the LGBTQIA+ community, women and people of color face more formidable barriers to equal pay, employment, and housing.
The COVID-19 pandemic increased financial inequality in nearly every form for LGBTQIA+ people. Yes, the pandemic severely hurt non-LGBTQIA+ people too. But not as much.
According to the HRC, 17% of LGBTQIA+ people lost their jobs during the pandemic compared to 13% of heterosexual people. Transgender individuals faced even worse consequences, as they were 125% more likely to have their work hours slashed. As we can see, the LGBTQ+ community took a bigger hit and suffered even more financially.
Even before the pandemic, sexual and gender minorities faced discrimination regarding jobs, housing, and banking. In 2018, only 29% of LGBTQ+ millennials felt financially secure compared to 41% of straight people in the same generation.
Looking at these numbers, we can see that financial inequality is a prevalent issue in the community. This translates into mental health complications, as poverty is linked to poor mental health. Poverty can impact our mental health (and vice versa) by causing financial stress, worrisome experiences, changes in executive brain functioning, poor nutrition, and exposure to toxic chemicals.
A SAMHSA study found that adults 26 or older who lived below the poverty line were more likely to have a severe mental illness than adults who lived at or above the poverty line. Most researchers have come to similar conclusions. Living in poverty comes with the risk of developing or relapsing into depression, anxiety, stress, suicidality, addiction, and other disorders.
For the LGBTQIA+ community, you can take that risk and hike it up some more. Being LGBTQIA+ puts you in the sights of discrimination, which can lead to poverty that, in turn, can contribute to one or more mental illnesses.
The kicker? Having a mental illness makes it harder to escape poverty. If you have a mental illness, you may be spending money on expensive (but necessary) treatments and medications. You may also have difficulty holding a job, staying motivated, and making sound decisions.
It certainly does not help anything that social workers may discourage people from climbing out of poverty. Per PsychCentral, “social workers...often encourage [people] to remain...in poverty to continue receiving their full benefits...programs often discourage work...and punish them financially as soon as they do.”
Ending the Cycle
As I type all this out, I realize it may seem like all the cards in the world are stacked against LGBTQIA+ people in poverty. I will not lie and say there are no cards. There are definitely quite a few.
However, there are ways to end the cycle! One factor in overcoming these challenges is research. While all the numbers I threw at you may paint a picture of dozens of articles on the subject, that is not true. Even the studies I used for this blog stated the need for more work in the area. Best and modestly put by Psych Central, “as more research is conducted in this area, perhaps the solutions will become more clear.”
You can help support research efforts by volunteering at universities, donating to LGBTQIA+ research institutions, and advocating for more studies. Another way to help solve this issue is to get involved with support centers, homeless shelters, and free clinics. These nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations always need an extra set of hands!
Finally, there is a place for you at CALM. We are looking for volunteers to get involved in our mission for mental health equality. You can write blogs, join our podcast, help us find new research, and more!
