Mobilising the Voluntary and Community Sector to Address the Unmet Needs of the UK LGBT+ Population during Covid-19.

It has been long-established that the UK's LGBT+ population faces significant disadvantage and inequality. Research suggests that UK LGBT+ people are not only more likely to experience threats to safety and harassment, but are also more likely to have poorer mental health outcomes, to more regularly engage in substance abuse, and are disproportionately affected by homelessness and familial rejection (Hudson and Metcalf, 2016; Government Equalities Office, 2018). Evidence also suggests that specialist VC sector organisations are a crucial source of support for the UK LGBT+ population, as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and non-binary people are discouraged and prevented from accessing mainstream support services through fears of inappropriate treatment and discrimination (Hudson and Metcalf, 2016). Preliminary international and small-scale regional UK research indicates Covid-19 is having a significant detrimental impact on the already disadvantaged UK LGBT+ population, resulting in decreased mental wellbeing during lockdown, threats to personal safety as a result of unsupportive home environments, and problems accessing health care and medication (Commonwealth Equality Network, 2020; LGBT Foundation, 2020). Correspondingly, LGBT+ VC sector organisations report unprecedented demand for services, alongside a loss and/or reduction in staff and funding as Covid-19 negatively affects crucial and already scarce statutory and grant funding (TUC, 2014). Within this context, this project, undertaken by NatCen Social Research and Consortium, in partnership with Stonewall, LGBT Foundation and Intercom Trust, will undertake mixed-methods research to identify and explore the impact Covid-19 has, and will continue to have, on the UK LGBT+ population, and how the LGBT+ voluntary and community (VC) sector can be mobilised to address community need. This project will undertake three key strands of research. First, it would collate and analyse raw online survey data on the self-reported impacts of Covid-19 on the UK LGBT+ population. This data has been collected throughout April-June 2020 by our partner organisations and provides the largest UK data resource on the impacts of Covid-19 in areas such as mental health, social connectedness, safety and service engagement. Second, this project would undertake focus groups to elucidate survey findings, providing disaggregation on the impacts of Covid-19 on vulnerable sub-populations, including BAME, older and disabled LGBT+ people, amongst many others. Third, it will work directly with the UK LGBT+ VC sector; hosting workshops to explore research findings and developing a national strategic framework that will map community need and service delivery, to identify how the sector can be mobilised to address unmet need.