A new report is now available, produced by Philanthrofund via a Tobacco-Free Lavender Communities Mini-Grant.

LGBT Health: Community Cares

What does it mean to be healthy? For some, health means having no pain and no physical struggle. For others,
health is broader and includes one’s mental health, sense of family and community, and overall feeling of safety and
wellness. Are there specific healthcare needs for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people? If so, what are they?
And, what are the resources available to support health and wellness for LGBT communities in the Twin Cities?

These are the kinds of questions that PFund Foundation set out to explore. After conducting site visits in 2007 and
2008 with health organizations serving LGBT communities, PFund learned that most of these organizations felt they
were working in silos and disconnected from their partners and community members. Each organization had a sense
of the overall health disparities facing LGBT communities, but lacked connection to other agencies doing this important
work. Staff at each agency expressed a desire to meet and learn with other agencies around issues of LGBT health, but
didn’t have a mechanism to do so. PFund saw an opportunity to help connect these organizations and to then share
information about the healthcare needs of LGBT communities with a broader audience. By convening health agencies
serving LGBT communities, PFund’s hope was to put those agencies in a better position to do what they do best.
Instead of working in isolation from other organizations, they would now have a connection to advance the overall
health and wellness for LGBT communities in a collaborative fashion. This report is part of this effort.

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