The importance of building the links

I started my internship in a LGBT(Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) organization half a year ago. The LGBT group of people are often considered as special and different from the large portion of the society. Most LGBT organizations are still aiming at fighting for more equal rights and more integration with the social majority since there are still many cases that the LGBT people are excluded and labeled in a derogatory way. I feel like  though it is very important to form allies within the LGBT community, collaboration with other communities are also as crucial. Outside support and resources can benefit a community in many ways. 

Discussion about stigmatized population inevitably involves poverty, race and some related issues of stigma and discrimination. Minorities in terms of race, nationality, sexual orientation, or even age can easily become stigmatized, and marginalized. 

Poverty, in particular, is often associated with these minorities and further related to a wide range of vulnerabilities. Since poverty is concentrated in some identifiable communities, coming along is the  evidence of  stigmatization. Poverty is exacerbated by stigma, prejudice, and discrimination. In turn, it leads to the segregation caused by race and class, which damages the social integration. 

Just like Thomas Edsall pointed out:" Poverty has much to do with the disengagement of low-income populations from public institutions." The low-income population is segregated from the majority of the society, which reveals a vicious circle: the social stigmatized populations are excluded from the main society, thus fails the social integration. The social disintegration cuts the communication between the social stigmatized populations and the society, which widens the gap between them socially, economically and emotionally. 

Social isolation is one major contributory factor to poverty. The situation is, the poor often has little chance getting access to resources of development, while there is in fact limited resource for them. People in needy communities are often vulnerable because of their lack of ties to social networks and lack of other social supports. As a result,  it is important for the links to be built among different groups of people and different communities in order to reach the optimal development.