Demand for LGBTI+ services soared during pandemic

Demand for LGBTI+ Support Services soared last year, prompted in part by anxiety and stress caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Demand for LGBTI+ Support Services soared last year, prompted in part by anxiety and stress caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The annual report of BeLonG To Youth Services, the national organisation supporting LGBTI+ young people, showed a 113% increase in support through its frontline service.

It also found:

• A 360% increase in individual interventions (phone, email, and text support) last year compared to in 2019;
• A 108% increase in demand for the in-house crisis counselling service operated by BeLonG To and Pieta, which is available to people who are engaging in self-harm or experiencing suicide ideation;
• That mental health, coming out, gender identity, coming out as trans, and sexual orientation were the top presenting issues for service users in 2020;
• And that LGBTI+ young people made up 52% of the caseload, with additional support delivered to parents, educators, and professionals.

BeLong To Youth Services said the findings matched those from a national survey it conducted last year which found that 93% of LGBTI+ youth were struggling with anxiety, stress, or depression during Covid-19, compared to 53% of the general youth population.

In the report foreword, Nikki Gallagher, Chair of the Board of Directors, said: "During the pandemic, many LGBTI+ young people are confined to spaces that are unsupportive of their sexual orientation or gender identity, such as family homes. Family rejection, feeling unaccepted, and a denial of identity can result in feelings of loneliness, stress, anxiety, and more complex mental health challenges.

"For some LGBTI+ young people, their home environment is not a safe space. This can pose a serious risk to their mental health and wellbeing."

The organisation's CEO, Moninne Griffith, said Covid-19 has serious implications for the mental health of LGBTI+ young people, but she also noted other factors, such as "a notable rise in transphobia and far-right narratives that attempted to undermine the rights and even the existence of trans people."

Ms Griffith said: "It has been alarming to witness the impact of Covid-19 on LGBTI+ young people in Ireland. Even before the pandemic, this group experienced a significantly increased risk of depression, anxiety, and suicide ideation. The global pandemic has compounded these mental health challenges, and we saw demand for our frontline support services soar over the past 12 months.

"This demand for one-to-one and peer group support comes at a time when we see the rise of a small but loud group of far-right actors in Ireland attempting to undermine LGBTI+ rights and the existence of trans people. It is really troubling to see a growth in incidences of hate speech targeting the LGBTI+ community, particularly across social media platforms."