As we slowly recover from the ravages of COVID, picking up the pieces of our businesses and lives, adjusting to the new normal of a mask-wearing society, there is one thing we don’t talk about as much as we should: the severe, economic impact COVID has had on our community, especially the queer community.
Many LGBTQ people across Colorado are out of work and out of money, and The Alexander Foundation is here to help. The organization has created the COVID-19 LGBTQ+ Coloradan Assistance Program to get struggling, queer Coloradans the help they need.
“We essentially created this assistance program from scratch, and we had to change a little bit of the way that we give assistance, as this is the first time we’ve given out instant transfers through PayPal,” explains Alexander Lemas, chairperson of the Foundation. “We knew that we had to make it as easy for folks to apply as possible because we knew that this was hitting people quickly and was very drastically changing people’s lives in a matter of days. So, it was really great to see us work really hard on this, similar to what we did during the HIV and AIDS epidemic.”
Lemas has been with the organization since 2015, when he moved to Denver in search of more ways to connect with the LGBTQ community. He started out as scholarship director and was moved by the awesome way in which the Alexander Foundation changes lives by giving funds to folks who may otherwise not get the chance to go to college or live their best lives. From there, he moved up in the organization to his current chairperson role, and he loved every minute of it.
“The mission really resonated with me. I felt like it was all about people helping other people. When I was giving out the scholarships, it was really amazing to hear the stories of how they want to make our community stronger and how they hope to change the world.”
Now, that work is more important than ever, as the Foundation strives to give money to those in need, much as it did during the AIDS crisis when the work was so in demand. So far, it has helped more than 200 LGBTQ Coloradans who required money to get themselves through COVID.
“As long as they identify within the LGBTQ community and their income had been impacted by COVID-19 in some way, they could apply,” Lamas says. “So, whether that be new medical expenses, or hours being cut at work, or losing a job entirely. That was really all we asked of folks because we knew that this was going to put people in a really challenging place, and we wanted to make it as easy as possible for people to apply.”
There’s a saying that money can’t buy happiness, but it’s also true that in a capitalist state, poverty can cause misery. The Alexander Foundation knows this, and that’s why they’ve built their organization around helping people who need financial assistance, be that through this special program, the financial assistance programs they offer for anyone facing emergency circumstances, their scholarship program, or their holiday program that helps LGBTQ folks give their families great holiday celebrations complete with gifts.
While this is certainly not the only important work that needs to be done for queer people in Colorado, it’s a fact that money is still a major factor in our society, and many don’t have enough of it to make ends meet. Thanks to The Alexander Foundation, queer kids can go to school, and queer folks can get emergency money when they hit hard times.
“I think we here in The Alexander Foundation are powerful because of the passion that keeps our organization running,” says Lemas. “We’ve been around for 39 years, and we’ve always been volunteer-run, so nobody is ever paid to do the work that we do. We all have full-time jobs and do this in our free time.
“I think it’s really powerful that we have folks in the community who come together and want to give back and support one another. Our tradition is all about caring for one another. We’re donation-based, and I think it’s powerful when people realize what they can do when they have the time or funds to give back and support someone else who is in need. I think power is about coming together and supporting people outside of your own self, and I think that’s what makes us really special and unique. We are excited to continue to do this for another 40 years”
For more information on how to get involved and give back or request assistance, visit thealexanderfoundation.org.
