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TRANSFORMING COMMUNITY OUTREACH Rapid Response to Emerging Fair Housing Issues In an ever-evolving political and social climate, meeting LGBTQ community needs requires fair housing organizations to spot trends and intervene early by distributing updated educational materials and anchoring collaborative advocacy work.
Case Study:
94%
Mpox Outbreak Mpox (f/k/a "Monkeypox"), a virus that causes
of mpox cases were in gay/bi/MSM men
smallpox-like symptoms and is sometimes fatal, has existed for decades. In 2022, a new strain of the virus began to spread around the world, almost entirely among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM). In the United States, 95% of mpox cases were
Community members stepped up to get people
men (CDC, 2023).
vaccines, hotel rooms, and to educate people on their
News outlets accurately reported the initial transmission primarily in the queer community, but then shifted to focus on possible spread through linens, towels, and non-sexual contact. The combination of data and means of spread created the discrimination for queer people with fearful roommates. Closeted people were kicked out of their homes because they had this new "gay disease." With visible and lasting body sores, elders in the community feared another
AIDS-like
crisis
of
government
inaction and social isolation of queer people. Further, in St. Louis, unhoused people who tested positive had no respite housing. Without secure
and
safe
housing,
both
fear
for
discrimination and increased risk of spread created a public health crisis waiting to bloom.
rights to housing. Like most health and social issues, housing access lies at the root. On a global scale, researchers found low quality housing was a risk factor for the transmission of mpox (Quiner et al., 2017).
Across
the
United
the
queer
community stepped up to reduce the harm inflicted by mpox. In collaboration with our community partners, EHOC created a first of its kind fact sheet specifically addressing fair housing rights in the context of MPOX and partnered with local public health departments, providers, and grassroots efforts to both educate the public on housing protections as well as to co-host MO's first mass vaccination event for gay, bisexual, and MSM.
Mpox & Fair Housing
Unhoused individuals face an elevated mpox risk due to congregate settings like camps or shelters, along with a higher prevalence of chronic illnesses like HIV, which raises the likelihood of severe or fatal mpox infection (NHCHC, 2022).
States,
bit.ly/mpoxfairhousing
