One Last Push: The Greater Mahoning Valley LGBTQ+ Community Needs Assessment Needs Your Response

The Greater Mahoning Valley LGBTQ+ Community Needs Assessment is making one last push for survey responses to help shape the future of LGBTQ+ services in the Valley. To date, just over 200 LGBTQ+ valley residents have completed the survey – but those working to help recruit survey participants are urging all LGBTQ+ community members to take it before the survey closes at the end of the year.

The newest chapter in this community-led movement that has previously completed assessments in the Akron and Cleveland areas, captures the status of and unmet needs of the LGBTQ+ community in Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana, and Ashtabula counties. The project, which launched in January 2025, is implemented in collaboration between The Center for Community Solutions and Equality Ohio. This project brings together over 50 local organizations and community stakeholders and leaders, including Full Spectrum Community Outreach, PFLAG Mahoning Valley, Mahoning Valley Queer Action, Ashtabula Pride Coalition, Newcastle Prism Initiative, Rae’s Safe Haven, YSUnity, Trans Liberation Front, and the organizers of local Pride celebrations.

Surveys can be completed by residents of Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana and Ashtabula Counties through the end of the year at www.lgbtqohio.org.

“Historically, LGBTQ+ people have been largely invisible in public datasets” says Andrew M. Snyder, Research Fellow at The Center for Community Solutions. He points out that this lack of representation hampers advocacy, policy development and funding. “Without robust data, funders and policy makers often overlook LGBTQ+ needs. This assessment will provide actionable evidence to inform and increase funding, improve community engagement and empowerment, shape more inclusive policy, improve program planning and implementation, contribute to academic research, and empower advocacy efforts.”

Collecting self-reported data directly from community members allows researchers and advocates to understand gaps in services, such as access to mental health resources, housing and food insecurity, workplace discrimination and a lack of LGBTQ-specific sex education. The resulting tools Snyder creates and disseminates back publicly provides community organizers and advocates, policy makers, community organizations, grant funders and researchers with evidence and more equitable programs.

The surveys in Greater Akron and Greater Cleveland resulted in full community reports for each region, an LGBTQ+ racial equity report for Cleveland, a LinkTree page for community resources and a data dashboard that provides a publicly available snapshot of self-reported LGBTQ+ physical, mental, behavioral, spiritual, and social health. Past Tools from Greater Akron and Greater Cleveland LGBTQ+ Community Needs Assessments include:

• Greater Akron Full Community Report – A comprehensive report highlighting survey findings and community-driven recommendations in Summit, Stark, Portage, and Medina counties.
• Greater Cleveland Full Community Report – A detailed report that blends survey results, stakeholder interviews, and listening session into practical guidance for policies and programs for Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, and Lorain counties.
• Greater Cleveland 2sLGBTQIA+ Racial Equity Report – A focused report examining racial equity withing the Greater Cleveland needs assessment, elevating BIPOC voices to spotlight disparities and propose targeted actions for change.
• Self-Reported Health and Sociodemographic Dashboard – An aggregation of 2,202 survey respondents from the Greater Akron (2022) and Greater Cleveland (2024) assessment to offer a nuanced, region-wide snapshot of self-reported LGBTQ+ physical, mental, behavioral, spiritual, and social health.
• Community Resource Link Tree – A collection of community vetted resources identified through the process of conducting the assessments by county to help community members navigate existing LGBTQ+ affirming resources.

“We look forward to developing new tools, just as we have in the past, that support and improve the day-to-day lives of LGBTQ+ people in the Mahoning Valley,” says Snyder, who grew up in the region.

The assessments have followed the principles of community-based participatory research, which invites community members into the research process with a mindset of “advocacy with me, not for me.” The project employs a confidential community survey and key stakeholder interviews with leaders from local LGBTQ+ serving nonprofits, local government, healthcare providers, faith communities, education and business. All data are de-identified to protect participant privacy.

In addition, throughout the year trained facilitators have hosted intersectionality listening sessions, small focus groups where participants share experiences at the intersection of LGBTQ+ identity and other historically underserved and marginalized identities and lived experiences.

“The needs assessment is a critical part of ensuring that funding be made available to LGBTQ+ services in our area.” Says Leandrah Alexis, Mahoning Valley Coordinator at Equity Ohio. “The report will provide valuable insights for community organizers to build and direct informed programming to areas where our queer community needs it most. The more data we have, the better suited we are to serve our community.”

After New Year’s Eve – the survey portal closes at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 31 – Snyder and researchers at the Center for Community Solutions will analyze the completed surveys, conduct stakeholder interviews and review information from the listening sessions to create a final report and other materials that will be released in the summer of 2026.

Data from the needs assessment will also play a crucial role in securing grant funding to support initiatives and programs that address the identified needs of the LGBTQ+ community in the Greater Mahoning Valley. Grantmakers often require evidence-based data to support funding decisions, and the assessment’s findings can strengthen grant applications by demonstrating a clear understanding of community needs, priorities, and potential impact. Organizations can use the data to align their proposals with documented needs, develop tailored strategies for intervention, and articulate expected outcomes and benefits for LGBTQ+ individuals and communities.

This initiative is made possible by the generous support of the Trumbull Memorial Health Foundation, Western Reserve Health Foundation, Swanston Foundation of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, the Youngstown Foundation, Ashtabula Foundation, and the Wean Foundation among others.

The research team, led by Andrew M. Snyder (Research Fellow at Center for Community Solutions), with Leandrah Alexis (Mahoning Valley Organizer at Equality Ohio) and Heather Daniels (Graduate Assistant at the Center for Public Policy and Health at Kent State University’s College of Public Health) extends deep thanks to the more than 50 community organizations and hundreds of residents who have already participated.

This assessment is by the community, for the community; its success depends on continued participation and advocacy. 🔥

IGNITE ACTION

• Take the survey before it closes on December 31, 2025: If you live, work, or spend time in Trumbull, Mahoning, Columbiana, or Ashtabula counties, share your experiences at www.lgbtqohio.org
  • If you started the survey, but didn’t complete it – you can still finish if you open the survey link on the same device you started it on.

• Follow and Share: Stay up to date on Facebook and Instagram and share posts to reach neighbors who may not know about the project.

• Support Funding Opportunities: This project is funded almost entirely by local philanthropy, crowdsourcing, donations, sponsorships and in-kind services. A funding gap for the project still exists. Foundations and donors looking to invest in health equity can contact Andrew M. Snyder, asnyder@communitysolutions.com, at the Center for Community Solutions to explore opportunities to support this work financially.