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Announcing the Release of Southwest Alabama Inclusion Project Survey

Contact Person: Elizabeth Denham
Contact Email: [email protected]
Contact Phone: 251-300-1324

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Announcing the Release of Southwest Alabama Inclusion Project Survey

Mobile, Alabama – February 23, 2023 – The Southwest Alabama Inclusion Project announces the release of their LGBTQ+ Community Needs Assessment Survey. The research project has received Institutional Review Board approval from the University of South Alabama and the survey link will be live on March 5, 2023. The survey will be open to anyone in the LGBTQ+ community age 13 and older who currently lives or has ever lived in Baldwin, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Marengo, Mobile, Monroe, Washington, or Wilcox Counties.

The Southwest Alabama Inclusion Project is a collaboration of community organizations and businesses for the purpose of better understanding the lived experiences of the local LGBTQ+ community. The coalition’s first initiative is to conduct a community-based participatory research project for the LGBTQ+ community in southwest Alabama. Spearheaded by Prism United, the project plans to use data collected in the assessment to determine how it can inform city, county and state policy decisions, help set community actions and priorities and establish goals to form a more inclusive, compassionate and safe community. Members also seek to better understand where funding is most needed and would make the
most impact.

“Our Southwest Alabama community has never collected data to identify the situations, needs and experiences of LGBTQ+ people living here,” Dan Van Nostrand of Prism United said. “The data we have has been extrapolated from national data and is based on estimations. Having concrete information from the real people who are navigating our region as members of a marginalized and often legally unprotected community will help us find solutions, impact their quality of life and seek protections so that everyone living here feels safe and supported.”

The needs assessment will address the following data as it relates to the LGBTQ+ community:

  • Demographics: Who are we? Where do we live? What are our ages, races, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, and socioeconomic statuses?
  • What are our healthcare needs? Service needs? Programming needs?
  • What services do we have access to? What services do we have difficulties accessing?
  • What features of our community are present to create a safe, supportive, and inclusive space for LGBTQ+ people in Southwest Alabama? What features are NOT present?

The Southwest Alabama Inclusion Project is a collaborative project of Prism United, AIDS Alabama South, Lifelines Counseling, Door to Serenity, MedPride and Allies, Center for Fair Housing, LGBTQ+ Liaisons to the City of Mobile, Rainbow Pride of Mobile, Trans Pride of Mobile, Safe2BU, Southern Transgender Alliance, Spectrum USA, Order of Pan, Order of Osiris, FemmSouth, Independent Living Center of Mobile, Black Belt Community Foundation, B-Bob’s, Herz, Flip Side Bar and Patio, Gabriel’s Downtown, Ambitiously Him & Her King Foundation, Black Empowerment Team, Prime Timers, The Bevy, Krewe of Phoenix, Citrus & Cane, Mobile County Health Department, We the Change Mobile, and Flourish Psychotherapy Services. Corporate sponsors include AIDS AL South, Order of Osiris, Alabama Power Foundation and Poarch Band of Creek Indians.

Anyone interested in taking the survey can go to https://alabamainclusionproject.org. To volunteer or request more information, send a message to [email protected].