New report: LGBTQ community centers face challenges from hostile political climatehttps://www.washingtonblade.com/2026/10/20/new-report-lgbtq-community-centers-face-challenges-from-hostile-political-climate/ 🔗Lou Chibbaro Jr. (20 Oct 2026)
A newly released report based on a survey of 175 LGBTQ community centers located throughout the U.S. has found that 76 percent of the centers have experienced anti-LGBTQ threats or harassment either online or offline over the past year due to a hostile political climate.
But the 2026 10th biennial LGBTQ Community Center Survey Report, released on Oct. 15, also shows that nearly all the LGBTQ centers that responded to the survey have continued to provide a wide range of services to the LGBTQ people in their local communities despite the obstacles many are facing.
The 2026 survey and report were conducted and prepared by the Movement Advancement Project and CenterLink, two national LGBTQ-supportive organizations that advocate for and conduct research on LGBTQ related issues.
"The current political climate targeting LGBTQ — and especially transgender and youth — populations pose an ongoing substantial challenge," the statement says. "Centers continue to name this atmosphere as impacting their work, their safety and security, their staff, the communities they serve, the funding they receive, and more," it says.
The statement adds, "The vast majority (76 percent) of all centers reported that they had experienced anti-LGBTQ threats or harassment, whether online, offline, or both." It says many of the centers reported that these threats "were driven by anti-LGBTQ rhetoric broadly and targeted their transgender and/or youth related programs and events."
The statement points out that although the centers are responding "strategically" to the threats, increased safety measures they have taken require additional funding.--------------------------
@Sarah B
