"What started as an equal-opportunity disease has quickly become racialized." Laura Abrams, Chair and Director of Social Welfare at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs gives an account of how COVID-19 has reinforced pre-existing racial and ethnic health disparities, with African Americans carrying a higher burden of illness and impact. Dr. Abrams also speaks to the effects of the pandemic on incarcerated youths and adults and shares how the Social Work profession is helping communities far and wide.  Guest Bio Professor Abrams’ scholarship focuses on improving the well being of youth and young adults with histories of incarceration. Her ethnographic studies have examined youths’ experiences of criminality, risk, and institutions seeking to reshape their identities through both therapeutic and punitive practices. She has published over 75 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and is the author of two edited volumes: The Voluntary Sector in Prisons (Palgrave, 2016); and The International Handbook of Youth Imprisonment (Routledge, forthcoming). In the community, Dr. Abrams has served as an expert witness for death row appeals and in cases involving minors fighting their fitness to be tried as adults. She has provided public and congressional testimony regarding treatment in the juvenile justice system, the reentry needs of youth, and effective practices for the reintegration of reentry youth into the community. Dr. Abrams’ work and opinions have been cited in a range of news media including the New York Times and NPR, among others. She has received numerous awards for her scholarship, including the SSWR best scholarly book award (2020) and the Frank R. Bruel prize for the best published article in Social Service Review (2013). Follow Dr. Abrams on Twitter - https://twitter.com/labramsucla.  Find COVID-19 Heroes on: Facebook - https://bit.ly/3dSnhhw Instagram - https://bit.ly/2WaFW0O Twitter - https://bit.ly/3aOspRW Youtube - https://bit.ly/2zxok7N The Web - https://bit.ly/3bTAlSC -- This episode is sponsored by GoGyft - the gyft that keeps on giving. To create your GoGyft, visit https://www.gogyft.com/covid.