How 3 Major LGBTQ Centers Are Virtually Keeping Their Communities Alive

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, LGBTQ centers have been determined to keep the critical services they provide available to those who need it most. As such, centers across the country have worked at astonishingly fast rates to convert their operations into robust virtual communities.

For many people, LGBTQ community centers can be crucial lifelines. These organizations offer a bevy of resources and support, from physical and mental health services to financial management resources to housing services to a place to socialize and find a family.

“When the government started talking about social distancing and social isolation, I thought, gosh, that’s something The Center was founded to try and reduce,” says Glennda Testone, executive director of The Center in New York City. “Because that’s something we can feel sometimes even more acutely than our counterparts, so we felt really quickly we had to spring into action and make sure to be there for our community.”

In just one week—a period of time that 6000 people would normally walk through The Center’s doors—The Center staff converted their entire organization to digital.

Now, people can access virtual one-on-one counseling sessions, as well as online support groups for LGBTQ young people, people in recovery, people with HIV, and more. The Center has also launched new community groups in response to this challenging time, including one on mindfulness and meditation.

In addition to a list of resources available on its website, The Center’s front desk phone line also continues to operate. People can call and speak to a human being to have their questions answered on how to find the resources they need.

“The response has been tremendous gratitude,” says Testone. “Just people so grateful that we’re there.”

The Center also receives funding from the state of New York to help enroll people in health insurance. With the state’s extended enrollment period, Testone says their trained team of patient navigators continues to work one-on-one with individuals in both English and Spanish.

Ashley Molin, Associate Director of Behavioral Health at Chicago’s Center on Halsted, says the organization has been able to convert the majority of its departments to virtual, including their individual and relationship therapy sessions, their HIV resource hub, their behavioral health program, their youth case management sessions, and their teen hangouts. The Center on Halsted’s Anti-Violence Project phone line also remains open for anyone experiencing violence and in need of immediate assistance.

“For a lot of the clients we work with, we are often one of the only places they’re able to receive services,” says Molin, “either because of financial barriers or barriers due to anxiety or difficulty seeking services at places less LGBTQ affirming. So the last thing we wanted to do during a time when everyone is more physically distant is have our clients, who are often already socially isolated, feel even more isolated from services they really need.”

At San Francisco’s SF LGBT Center, Deputy Executive Director Roberto Ordeñana says the staff has been working to ensure the center’s most vulnerable communities can access key resources.

“Many LGBTQ community members moved to San Francisco to live their most authentic lives here,” he explains. “We have a lot of history of support toward the LGBTQ community, but like many major cities around the world, San Francisco has been facing an enormous affordability crisis, so it has been impacting some of the most vulnerable members of our community, including people of color, transgender people, [and] younger community members.”

Before the pandemic, the SF LGBT Center created an economic development program to help low-income LGBTQ people find jobs and affordable housing, manage finances, and also access small business coaching. This entire operation, says Ordeñana, has gone virtual, and is especially important to maintain right now in the wake of devastating levels of unemployment.

The organization has also been providing video conference support to LGBTQ young people, including those who have been participating in a program that, before the pandemic, matched unhoused youth with supportive individuals and families to live with.

Ordeñana says community members can also reach out to the SF LGBT Center over the phone or via email to find resources that range from health and wellness services to domestic violence support. Vetted resources are also available on the organization’s website.

While the rapid shift to virtual programming hasn’t been easy, the leaders of all three community centers say it may also be opening up permanent opportunities for these centers to connect with community members who may not have the ability to visit their locations.

At The Center in New York City, one-on-one therapy sessions have increased by 40% since they launched virtually. Testone says that this jump is in part due to the fact that we are living through such difficult times, but she also believes people who did not previously have access to in-person services are utilizing the online offerings .

“That’s certainly something we’re looking at for the future,” Testone says. “How could we provide both [in-person and online services] going forward, because it is certainly being appreciated.”

“I think it’ll definitely be pushing us to be more creative and more open,” adds Molin, “because we’ve now had the experience [and realized] this is a thing we’re capable of doing.”

Until a future arrives when in-person offerings are possible again, these community centers will continue to focus on uplifting their communities from a distance.

“I’ve just seen our folks completely up to the challenge,” says Testone, “and just ready to adapt to whatever they need to be able to continue to be there for our community.”