University of Guelph and United Way partner to research enhanced services for 2SLGBTQ+ communities

The United Way Perth-Huron’s Social Research and Planning Council and the University of Guelph (UoG) are exploring opportunities to develop services for local 2SLGBTQ+ communities.

The first step was to launch a community survey to gauge what is currently missing in the community. That survey closed on Nov. 29, after this paper’s publication date. 

“The partnership was the result of a number of different community conversations through different partnership tables and social planning groups that United Way is involved in,” said Kristin Crane, director of community impact and research at United Way Perth-Huron.

“We have heard of increased incidents of discrimination and exclusion toward 2SLGBTQ+ members and alongside that, we have just completed our quality-of-life research where we discovered there was a lack of information among our more diverse community.” 

Crane says that based on advice from community advisors, future accommodations should provide a healthy space for people to share their experience of being 2SLGBTQ+ in the Perth-Huron community. 

There will also be conversations taking place among United Way, UoG and community advisors on current, available services that are succeeding so they can elaborate on what a safe space looks like and to gain insight for future development-care opportunities generated by the ongoing research. 

“This really solidified the need to do this research in the community. There are a lot of different sensitivities with doing this research,” said Crane. “Through our investigation, we realized we had a moral responsibility to do no harm with conducting further research so we thought it would be excellent to partner with a post-secondary institution that possesses the knowledge of non-invasive study methods to ensure all care is taken into consideration.” 

Crane says the survey was only the first step of a larger development process. The next stage will involve focus groups and interviews to gather additional data which will then be transferred into written reports expected to be released to the public this June. 

“The best response to discrimination and hate is to build inclusivity and belonging. The research will provide us with an opportunity for us to provide these resources to those in need. We need to make it known that discrimination is happening in our community,” said Crane. “This is an underserved population and without that research to build this case on why these services are needed, it will be difficult to get that support for individuals facing discrimination.” 

United Way Perth-Huron’s Social Research and Planning Council consists of volunteers who dedicate their time and resources to improving the quality of life for communities facing discrimination, addiction, housing insecurity and other social-justice issues through collected research and data analysis.