How LGBTQ+ People Can Get Help and Resources During Coronavirus

As LGBTQ+ health and community centers are shutting down nationwide, these virtual resource kits, phone hotlines, live streams, and webinars are vital for getting information and support.
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Paris under lockdown, March 2020Photo by PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP via Getty Images

 

As the Coronavirus pandemic continues to spread and new updates roll in rapidly, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for LGBTQ+ people (and their families) to know exactly where to get help and resources.

Some of the nation’s LGBTQ+ health and community centers are shutting down temporarily, while some are transitioning to more limited services as they brace for the increase of cases of COVID-19. As a result, many queer folks — especially vulnerable populations who may be immunocompromised, HIV+, trans, parents of kids at home, service workers, sex workers, incarcerated, and more — don’t know where to turn as they face difficult questions under quarantine or social distancing: How am I going to make rent or buy food? How will I access my hormones? Who can I turn to for mental health support? What’s gonna happen if I get infected with coronavirus?

In response, more organizations are sharing and putting together online resource kits and mutual aid networks, while crisis call centers are ramping up to support queer people in this time of anxiety. Below, find a list of virtual resources to turn to if you don’t know where to go.

Call Your LGBTQ+ Health Center Before Going In

If you’re concerned about your risk of COVID-19 or think you may have been near someone who has been tested positive, please check your local LGBTQ+ health or community center’s website to view up-to-date advice and see if their phone lines are open for consultation. Many of these centers are urging individuals to call first before coming in, so that they don’t put themselves or others at risk.

Places like Los Angeles’ LGBT Center, Washington D.C.’s Whitman-Walker, San Diego’s Center, New York’s Gay Center, and Seattle’s Gay City are just some of the organizations offering evaluations and/or support over the phone or email. If you need to find a LGBTQ-affirming health provider, check out GLMA’s health provider directory, HRC’s healthcare quality index, the CDC’s database of LGBTQ-inclusive health clinics, or CenterLink’s national LGBTQ+ center database.

Resource Kits for Queer People and Vulnerable Populations

With a surge of crowdsourced fundraisers, mutual aid networks, and information about resources popping up online, it may be hard to find the right way to get direct aid for whatever situation you’re in. In response, organizers are creating collectivized resource kits and databases — easily-accessible documents that collect ways to get help and help others, whether financially, mentally, physically, or otherwise. By collating essential information and a number of resources in one place, they’re a helpful way to navigate getting help. Here are two comprehensive toolkits (this one and this one), as well as this database of resources. For LGBTQ-specific guidelines and advice, check out Trans Equality’s very good resource pack for trans people and COVID-19, as well as the National LGBT Cancer Network’s explainer, “Coronavirus 2019: What LGBTQ+ People Need to Know.”

Mental Health Phone Hotlines and Online Chats

Because most mental health hotlines and chat rooms were already entirely remote, they are still going strong. The Trevor Project has multiple crisis services available for young people, including TrevorLifeline (1-866-488-7386), TrevorChat, and TrevorText (text START to 678678), as well as TrevorSpace, an online community for LGBTQ+ people ages 13-24. According to a spokesperson for Trevor Project, these services are ”equipped to remain uninterrupted and stay 24/7.”

Crisis Text Line (also available in Canada and the UK) is not specifically for LGBTQ+ people, but Ashley Womble, MPH, Head of Communications at Crisis Text Line, tells them. in a statement that 40% of their texters identify as LGBTQ+. She also says that the Crisis Text Line has seen “a steady increase in texts about the coronavirus for the past few weeks. Of those conversations, 80% discuss feeling anxious and 10% are concerned about finances.”

LGBT National Help Center offers a national hotline for both youths and seniors, as well as online peer support chat rooms and a weekly youth chatroom for queer kids age 19 or younger.

Trans Lifeline, a phone hotline for and by trans people, is also encouraging callers to reach out for support. “Trans people came together to create a space where we can talk to each other to combat that isolation,” says Trans Lifeline’s Hotline Director IV Staklo in a statement to them. “Our staff and volunteers share the lived experiences of our callers, and we've been talking to many people affected by this pandemic in the most dire ways - people without housing or in detention centers and prisons, and people without support systems.”

Since many of these services are experiencing an increase in messages and calls about Coronavirus, they are also asking people to volunteer and they can start immediately after completing remote training. And of course, if you need more guidance on how to ease anxiety or depression, you can check out them.’s recent post of 11 self-care tips to implement while quarantining or social distancing. If you’re actively looking for a therapist in this time, check out them.’s guide on how to find a queer-affirming therapist.

Online Groups, Webinars, Talks, and Live Streams

Gender Spectrum, an advocacy organization for LGBTQ+ kids and teens, is continuing to offer the online groups and programs that they’ve been running for the past four years. Check out their resource page where you can register to be part of ongoing online or phone discussion groups for kids, teens, parents, grandparents, facilitators, and more. They are also holding live stream webinars, including one about how to understand gender for parents.

Nowadays, a live music venue in Queens, New York, is hosting nightly live stream events and seminars, some of which include live sets from queer DJs, sound baths, and deep listenings.

Believe Out Loud, a faith organization that advocates for LGBTQ+ inclusion, is currently compiling a list of LGBTQ-inclusive places of worship that live streams services online. Check out their Twitter thread to find an online service.

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