Are you an LGBTQ+ resident? PGH Equality Center needs you to fill out its Community Needs Survey

The PGH Equality Center (PEC) - formerly the Gay & Lesbian Community Center (GLCC) - launched a new survey to help better serve LGBTQ groups in the Western Pennsylvania region.

The LGBTQ+ Community Needs Survey includes questions about gender and sexual identity, preferred pronouns, ethnicity, educational background, and current employment status, as well as the zip code for their current residence. The survey then asks participants to rate their concern with certain issues in their community, ranging from experiences with sexism, racism, and homophobia, housing and homelessness, and having visitation rights in hospitals. They're also asked to rate their satisfaction with and cite specific gaps in available services and opportunities throughout the region.

While extensive, the survey should only take around two to five minutes to complete, according to the Center.

As one of the oldest LGBTQ organizations in the city (it was founded in 1979), the Center has long focused on providing a better quality of life for LGBTQ residents. Long known as the GLCC, it re-branded in 2017 to better represent the swath of identities and needs in the community.

The survey comes at a time when LGBTQ rights are still at risk or nonexistent due to insufficient protections at the state and local levels. While Allegheny County and Pittsburgh have various laws protecting LGBTQ residents from discrimination, including a local ban on harmful conversion therapy, the same can not be said for other Western Pennsylvania counties or Pennsylvania as a whole. For example, one nationwide survey released in 2017 concluded that trans individuals in Pennsylvania face “significantly higher rates of poverty, unemployment and workplace discrimination.” This year, the Human Rights Campaign once again ranked Pennsylvania as one of the worst states for LGBTQ people and their families. 

The lack of protections could become amplified during the COVID-19 shutdown when already underserved communities are now struggling even more with access to transportation and other public assistance, as well as food and housing.

Area residents have until May 16, 2020 to fill out and submit the LGBTQ+ Community Needs Survey.

“The results of this survey will help to define the PEC's strategic plan to support other LGBTQ+ groups in the area according to needs & will help to define our programs going forward,” says a PEC Facebook post, adding that all participants who provide their contact information will be entered to win a variety of gift cards.