Source: Columbus Dispatch, Outlook Weekly, Stonewall Columbus press release
Columbus, Ohio -- Gay, lesbian, bi, and trans residents of the Columbus metropolitan area  are mostly healthy, in committed relationships and happy with central Ohio's social scene. But they also report high levels of depression, face threats because of their sexual orientation and, often suffer discrimination in the workplace.

Those are some of the highlights from a first-ever survey of LGBT residents of central Ohio, Columbus Dispatch reports.

The findings show that Columbus, although known as a gay-friendly city, still has some work to do, survey organizers said.

"We have to create a community in which everyone feels welcome and everyone feels at home, now," said Bill LaFayette, vice president of economic analysis for the Columbus Chamber.

Nearly 60 percent of the respondents said they had been called names, threatened, stalked, intimidated or had personal property defaced because of their sexual orientation.

Close to one-third of the participants (28.8%) said they felt they were the victim of violence based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or HIV status.

More than half said they had experienced discrimination; among that group, two of three reported workplace discrimination.

"I think it's important for the business community to take a look at this," LaFayette said, "and take a look at themselves."

LaFayette was a volunteer member of the steering committee for the "GLBT Census of Central Ohio," a project led by the Columbus AIDS Task Force, Stonewall Columbus and the United Way of Central Ohio.

Participants in the survey felt lack of interest in LGBT issues or concerns was the issue that was most problematic for the central Ohio LGBT community, survey analysts report.

This sentiment was also echoed in group interviews with members of the community.

Analysts of the survey results conclude in a summary: "It is clear that given the diversity within the central Ohio LGBT community, coalescing around one common issue is difficult, however necessary."

Most participants (82%) said they donated something to charities in the last year. The average amount donated was approximately $1,300. On average, about one third of the amount donated was donated to GLBT organizations.

Participants were largely White, non-Hispanic (93%), between the ages of 21- 50 (79%), highly educated (84% some college or more), employed full time (71%), had household incomes between $50,000 - $150,000 (54%), and were HIV-negative (83%).

Over half of census participants were in committed/partnered relationships. The average length of these relationships was 8 years (Range: 2 months – 55 years) and most participants were either Satisfied or Extremely Satisfied with their relationship.

Almost 86% of the participants would favor a relationship with the legal benefits of marriage (civil unions or domestic partnerships) in Ohio.

Transgender individuals were more likely to be single and not dating than gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, or others; however, when in relationships, they were in them for long periods of time. Lesbians were most likely to be in committed relationships and to have sex only with their partner.

Organizers said they opted for the anonymous, online survey to attract the most participants. It isn't possible to extract accurate demographic snapshots of the entire gay and lesbian community from U.S. Census data, they explained, because it does not ask about sexual orientation.

"The primary purpose of this survey is to gather a more detailed understanding of the GLBT community and to gain information that helps us improve the delivery of human services to this population," said Doug Zelinski, chair of the steering committee that oversaw the development and implementation of the census. "The information contained in the results will help us make smarter decisions on where and how to invest community resources.”

An estimated 35,000 gay, lesbian and bisexual residents live in Columbus, with about 68,000 in the metro area.

Organizers say about 3,400 responses were compiled for the survey.

Group discussions with members of the LGBT community who were underrepresented in the census results were also held to help form a better picture of the overall GLBT community, according to a statement from Stonewall Columbus.

The services most often needed and used, according to survey results, were medical and dental assistance. The services most often needed yet not used were gyms/health clubs and individual counseling. The primary reasons for not using gyms/health clubs were cost and time, and the primary reason for not using individual counseling was cost.

Depression was reported by almost one third of participants, and was experienced by over half of participants who identified as bisexual and transgender.

Survey analysts conclude that the "more alarming" data is the low rate of treatment for mental health issues. One third of those experiencing depression were not seeking treatment or assistance.

Survey analysts said that the relatively low level of treatment for mental health issues may indicate that even though many participants were employed and had health insurance, their health insurance either does not cover mental health issues or that participants may not be aware of the extent of their coverage

Creating and completing the survey has been a major project over four years in the making for LGBT groups and allies in Columbus.

The notion of conducting a comprehensive survey started as the brainchild of former executive directors of Stonewall and CATF, Ohio's Outlook Weekly, a gay paper, reports. They wanted to put together a needs assessment to figure out how best to serve the LGBT community.

For a year they tried to get the assessment off the ground, but soon realized that it was going to be a much bigger project than anticipated, and for the time available
of both directors. They approached the United Way to help. That was over three years ago.

Teaming up with the United Way was the major shift the project needed to get things moving forward.

A core team from the three organizations reached out to a broader group of community members to create a more comprehensive survey. They met with spiritual leaders, the Health Department, and the Chamber of Commerce to create a steering committee.

That steering committee then reached out to other LGBT service organizations, the media, OSU, businesses, and social groups to create an advisory panel to help create an initial pool of questions for the survey. The panel was so responsive that the preliminary census ended up with over 1000 questions.

Recognizing that such a beast would be too much for respondents, the team wrangled, debated and cried over the list as they went through the painful process of paring it down to a manageable yet relevant tool. Many months later the committee came up with two surveys.

In the end, the long version consists of 100 base questions and the short version contains around 35 questions. The short version was also basically the first third of the long version.

The difference between the two, Outlook reports -- beside about 70 questions -- was the short version focuses specifically on statistical data that track closely with the US
Census. It was set up to be able to compare results of the Ohio survey with data from the last Census.

Full article: Gay residents say they're happy but not carefree | The Columbus Dispatch
The 2007 GLBT Census [pdf] | Outlook Weekly [large pdf file]
Groundbreaking GLBT Census of Central Ohio Released | Stonewall Columbus press release