This month we released early findings from our national survey of 660 LGBTQ+ young people (16-25 years) that ran from August-November 2020. While the survey asked a range of questions relating to mental health, social media, and peer support, this report focuses on questions asked about COVID-19 and associated lockdowns, and how these impacted survey participants. We consider these data alongside interviews conducted with Twenty10 staff and volunteers in late 2020.
We report on 5 questions asked of survey participants in relation to COVID-19, alongside data from 11 interviews with Twenty10 staff and volunteers who support LGBTQ+ young people in NSW. As a result of COVID-19, Twenty10 suspended drop-in services in 2020, and developed new ways to support young people, including the development of a Discord server. Staff and volunteers report on the challenges of LGBTQ+ youth service delivery during a pandemic, and discuss the needs for the LGBTQ+ support sector into the future.
We hope the report is valuable to LGBTQ+ service providers, communities, and researchers, here and abroad. This project was also designed to support Twenty10, as our research partner, and was funded by the Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion at the University of Technology Sydney.
Many thanks to all survey and interview participants for sharing their experiences. The report can be found HERE.
LGBTQ+ young people, mental health and digital peer support 