The mental health impacts of LGBTQ discrimination during the Covid 19pandemic have been severe. "We find that LGBT adults have experienced thepandemic differently than non-LGBT people in some key domains including withrespect to their risk of COVID-19, mental health, employment loss, vaccine attitudes,and willingness to engage in risk-reduction behavior such as social distancing(Dawson).” Additional help is necessary to manage resources for this group at a timewhen their voice isn’t as strong. Another example of a historical pandemic is the influenza pandemic thatoccurred after World War 1. These pandemics changed history, and the way that wethink and operate as a society. The COVID19 virus especially has changed the world.Some examples of how COVID has changed the world include school closures andlimitations on access to healthcare. The LGBTQIA community especially has struggled with access to equitablehealthcare. "In 31 states there is still no employment discrimination protection fortransgender people. private businesses and individuals continue to discriminateagainst same-sex couples. In Colorado, 41% of LGBQ people and 75% of transgenderpeople report needing to educate their health care providers on LGBTQ-specifichealth needs(McAfee).” The mental healthcare system has oppressed LGBTQIApeople. I wish to provide a contribution to a community where marginalizedcommunities are encouraged to gain social justice. By social justice I meanopportunities and privileges distributed equally within a society. They will gainsocial justice by disrupting systems that abuse oppressed marginalized folks. Thisincludes systems like systemic racism, ableism, sexism, and heterosexism andhomophobia. Institutions such as government, culture, and education reinforce thisoppression. These systems are hurtful and repeated by the mental health system.

Within the Orthodox Jewish (OJ) community, there is a hesitation among those in need of mental health services to seek treatment, primarily due to stigmatized views toward mental illness. The theory grounding this study was Goffman's theory of social stigma, which defines social stigma as the result of an attribute, behavior, or reputation being discredited by others in a way that puts a person or group of people in an undesirable light. The purpose of this study was to examine the reasons underlying negative attitudes toward mental health treatment in the OJ community by examining variables that might explain those attitudes. The variables examined included stigma, familiarity with mental health treatment, endorsement of OJ marriage structure and family system, geography, and age. Data on these variables were collected from a sample of 83 OJ adults using quantitative surveys, including the Attitudes toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale-Short Form, the Self-Stigma of Seeking Help Scale, the Family/Marriage Stigma Scale, and the Parental Influence on Mate Choice Scale. Using multiple regression analysis, results suggested that stigma was a significant predictor of negative attitudes towards seeking mental health services. The OJ marriage structure was a trend towards a significance predictor of negative attitudes towards seeking mental health services. However, familiarity with mental health treatment, endorsement of the OJ marriage family system, geography, and age did not significantly predict negative attitudes towards seeking mental health services. This study can effect positive social change by providing community organizations and activists a better understanding of the risk factors to help them improve the attitudes towards seeking mental health services within the community.