The Impact of Volunteerism on the LGBT Community

Volunteering is without a doubt an essential part of modern society and helps to build a more equitable world. But how does volunteerism affect the LGBT community?

by Dylan Power

Volunteerism has many positive impacts, both for the individual and for wider society. On an individual level, research has shown that volunteering contributes to better mental and physical health and overall life satisfaction (Yeung et al., 2017). It allows people to forge relationships with like minded people by working toward a common goal and helps them to develop their skills. On a societal level, it helps to strengthen communities and combat social issues such as poverty and discrimination (UN Volunteers, 2016). But for minority groups such as LGBT people, volunteering may be even more essential due to discrimination faced in daily life.

LGBT center

© Bradbury-Sullivan Center

The modern gay rights movement and volunteering are inextricably linked. Some of the first gay rights organisations such as the Gay Liberation Front in America and Britain relied on activist volunteers entirely (Bateman, 2004). This was during a point in history when being LGBT was still a major taboo across the world; it was not possible to rely on anyone except for community members.

LGBT center

This led to the development of annual pride marches and LGBT community centres, which are now found all around the world and many even have paid staff. But even now, in more accepting times, most pride parades and community centres still rely heavily on volunteers to run their operations. In 2021, 10,500 volunteers contributed 417,000 hours across 189 LGBT community centres in the US alone (MAP and CenterLink, 2022). This highlights the need for volunteers to work within the LGBT population to provide essential services such as STI testing, social groups and counselling. Without volunteers, many of these places would not be able to provide these services, and some may cease to exist altogether.

Why should LGBT people participate in volunteering? It’s no surprise that hostility and discrimination towards the LGBT community con- tinues to be a major issue plaguing all societies in some form. This is especially true of the 64 countries that still criminalise same-sex consensual sexual activity (ILGA Database) and 37 countries with anti-trans laws (Forbes, 2020). Even in progressive cultures, many LGBT people struggle to find acceptance from their families, communities and even themselves.

According to the European FRA’s EU LGBTI survey, 74% of participants in Greece avoid holding hands with their same-sex partner often or always. The journey toward self-acceptance is highly personal and complex, but volunteering can help individuals to find a community of people who are like them. For LGBT people, finding this community is of utmost importance; overcoming societally imposed prejudices can rarely be done in isolation. This makes volunteering especially beneficial for LGBT youth specifically as they are at a crucial point in their self-discovery. According to research conducted by NUI Galway, LGBT teens are twice as likely to participate in voluntary work (Kolto et al., 2021).

LGBT center

©NYCGO

While all LGBT people can benefit from volunteering, older LGBT adults may benefit even more due to experiencing greater amounts of loneliness. The effects of loneliness are well-researched; it is related to higher rates of depression, suicide and anxiety while also affecting physical health (CDC, 2021). Having children or a partner is less common among older LGBT adults, and they’re less likely to have a family support system that many heterosexual and cisgender counterparts are privileged to have. Among a sample of gay and lesbian adults aged over 60, volunteering was related to good mental well-being and lower amounts of psychological distress (Lyons et al., 2021).

In conclusion, volunteerism has many benefits for the general population. But as explored in this article, it has a greater function in maintaining the well-being of marginalised groups such as LGBT people and should be promoted not only as a way to give back to the community but also as a method of self-care.

Gay pride

© History