Austin Study Aims To Understand, Support LGBTQ Community

AUSTIN, TX — A newly created survey aims to inform city officials of the LGBTQ community's strengths and needs.

Launched on Friday, ShoutOut Austin and UnSaludo Austin, Austin’s LGBTQIA+ Community Survey will run through April 30. The survey, which takes 25-30 minutes to complete, will help to inform the City and its LGBTQ Quality of Life Advisory Commission about the quality of life of Austin’s LGBTQIA+ communities, officials said in an advisory.

The survey can be completed on any computer, touchpad, smartphone or via printed copy. All responses will be kept anonymous and no personal information will be shared, officials assured. The survey is one of several data collection methodologies that will inform Austin’s LGBTQIA+ Quality of Life Study. It will provide a better understanding of the community’s strengths and diversity, as well as more effectively advocate for its specific needs, officials added.

Additionally, officials said the survey will serve as a historical snapshot of the LGBTQIA+ community in Austin, a population with no official historical documentation among city archives to date. Ideally, officials added, this study will also contribute to a new precedent for more-inclusive city survey and data collection efforts that can be adopted for city, state, and national data collection efforts.

City officials said the study will utilize an intersectional analysis and center the experiences of the Queer People of Color communities, particularly those most historically negatively impacted. Every voice counts in documenting and better understanding the lives, experiences, and issues impacting Austin’s LGBTQIA+ communities, officials noted.

Participants can skip any question but, to get an accurate picture of the quality of life of the LGBTQIA+ communities, it is helpful to answer each question, officials noted. The Quality of Life Study was commissioned by the Equity Office and the City of Austin’s LGBTQ Quality of Life Advisory Commission. The study is being conducted by HMA Community Strategies, a national research and consulting firm. Community partners include allgo, Austin Black Pride, Austin Up, Out Youth, QWELL Community Foundation, Texas Health Action, UpRising, and Vivent Health.

To take the survey in English, visit shoutoutaustin.org.- Para responder a la encuesta en español, visite unsaludoaustin.org. The survey is also available in Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Mandarin, Burmese, and Vietnamese upon request. For more information, visit the LGBTQIA Quality of Life Study or email shoutoutaustin@healthmanagement.com.