PROVIDENCE -- Gays, lesbians and people with different gender identities form a significant demographic within Rhode Island's magnificent mix. They live in nearly every city and town, are generally well-educated, hard-working, and charitable with their time and money, a new report states.
They appreciate Rhode Island's progressive politics, the capital city's openly gay mayor, its large gay community, its beaches and culture. They are ethnically, racially and religiously diverse. They are parents, partners and soldiers.
And yet, the report states, they endure frequent harassment and discrimination -- at work, at school, on the street, in doctors' offices, in public places and in their places of worship. Some have experienced physical violence, or fear it, because of their sexual orientation.
The "Meet the Neighbors" report draws what is considered "a full-length portrait of Rhode Island's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, two-spirited (a Native American reference), queer and questioning individuals."
This marks the first major project by Equity Action, a permanent financing initiative established two years ago by the Rhode Island Foundation to support equal rights and treatment for lesbian, gay, bixsexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) residents in the state.
And, it apparently makes Rhode Island the first state to offer an informed look at those communities.
The Equity Action report will be released at noon today at the Rhode Island Foundation. Invited guests include Governor Carcieri, Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, heads of state departments, legislators, gay and lesbian community leaders, heads of nonprofit organizations that serve gays and lesbians, and business leaders.
Equity Action's mission thrusts the Rhode Island Foundation -- as its umbrella agency -- into advocating civil rights for a constituency that the foundation's president and CEO says has often been marginalized.
"It seems way past due for the Foundation to stand up" for those rights, says president Ronald V. Gallo. "We like to consider ourselves the center of philanthropy in this region, so we want to be there," for these groups.
Despite a number of recent events, including the election of Cicilline -- Providence's first openly gay mayor; the appointment of a gay bishop to the Episcopal Church; and the decision in Canada to allow gay marriages, says Gallo, "we still have a climate of misconceptions and prejudice rather than understanding and compassion."
"This is all about quality of life for a set of constituencies," says Peter G. Hocking, Equity Action co-chairman and director of the Howard R. Swearer Center for Public Service at Brown University. "Clearly, issues of discrimination and human rights are at the core of this."
Hocking says Equity Action will challenge policymakers and government leaders to join in proposing "the best solutions and blueprints" to address the issues raised in "Meet the Neighbors," and to help bring equal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities.
It will invite underfinanced nonprofit agencies that serve these communities to seek grants. And, Hocking adds, "we're looking for contributors. This is a permanent endowment," and a permanent commitment.
THE RHODE ISLAND Foundation created Equity Action in 2002, after the National Lesbian and Gay Community Funding Partnership challenged the Foundation to build a permanent endowment for the state's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities.
The national partnership said that if the Foundation and Equity Action raised $200,000, it would contribute an additional $100,000.
So far, Equity Action and the Foundation have $85,000 in hand, and at least $25,000 more in pledges. Equity Action will begin accepting smaller grant proposals in March; the deadline for major grants is April 15.
Before launching Equity Action, the Rhode Island Foundation hired John Snow Inc., of Boston, to conduct "The Rhode Island LGBTQ Community Scan."
The survey drew responses from 371 people, and included interviews with 4 focus groups, 16 separate organizations, and 18 community leaders.
Individuals were not always easily reached.
"We knew there are a lot of invisible and hidden communities who wanted to get their voices heard," says Kris Hermanns, Rhode Island Foundation program director and Equity Action staff member.
"People held house parties where they could have a safe place" for confidential discussion, says Hermanns. Nearly half the respondents submitted answers electronically, and confidentially.
Survey takers reached out to people in rural areas and other isolated situations. They placed advertisements in the gay and mainstream press, on the Internet, and through mailings. They handed out fliers at the annual Gay Pride Parade, and posted them in libraries, grocery stores and gay-owned businesses.
The study "found an LGBTQ community that is largely Rhode Island-born, but more educated and fully employed than the 'average' Rhode Islander."
It found that these communities "look much like the rest of the state," diverse in age, gender, ethnic and racial background.
It found individuals who have created "lasting relationships and families," and who yearn for the same privileges and benefits -- such as domestic partnership and marriage -- as heterosexuals.
Why Rhode Island? the survey asked.
"The LGBTQ community here is accessible." "Gay-friendly." "I have found no overt prejudices to any sexual orientation." "Natural beauty of the shoreline." "It's such a friendly place." "Gay mayor."
Those people's priorities include ensuring safe schools for gay, lesbian and transgender youth, advocating for civil rights and protection, expanding access to health care, and recognizing the needs of elders in those communities.
Of the respondents:
One-third are Rhode Island born and bred; and more than half have lived in Rhode Island 15 years or more.
81.1 percent have obtained a bachelor's degree or higher, versus 25.6 percent of all Rhode Islanders. (The report notes that "as with similar studies, it is not known whether this is due to the limited population sampled, or if LGBTQ individuals are on the whole more likely to pursue higher education.")
11.4 percent were military veterans, versus 12.9 percent of Rhode Islanders and 12.7 percent nationwide.
77.2 percent work full- or part-time, versus 64.7 percent of all Rhode Islanders.
54 percent had volunteered in the past 12 months, versus 44 percent of all Rhode Islanders; 52 percent made charitable gifts to one or more organizations, versus the 33 percent of Rhode Islanders who claimed charitable deductions on their income-tax returns.
But despite those positives, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer residents "are also regularly harassed or discriminated against," according to the report.
"This study contains numerous dismaying stories about the great fear of and irrational hatred toward LGBTQ individuals. An elderly lesbian recounts being told by the staff of her nursing home to hide her sexual orientation. A teenager reports being kicked out of her home and into the street when her family learned she was gay. Youths report they are afraid to go to school because of the level of harassment and threats of violence they face in Rhode Island's public education system," the report states.
That is why, according to Hocking, Equity Action will be knocking on legislators' doors, to gather people in power to its side in the fight for equal rights.
The survey will be used as a blueprint for action, and to develop the grant-giving program, says Hocking. "What we want to do is inspire the community. This ultimately is an empowerment strategy . . . the nonprofit sector no longer has to bury the dream. We're saying: 'Dream.' "
Copies of "Meet the Neighbors" can be obtained free of charge from The Rhode Island Foundation at www.rifoundation.org/equity-action, or by calling Kris Hermanns at (401) 274-4564.
A note on terminology:
Queer: Originally used as a perjorative, used by gay and lesbian activists since the 1980s as a term of defiant pride.
Transgender: Appearing as, wishing to be considered as, or having undergone surgery to become a member of the opposite sex.
Two-spirited: A Native American term for transgender behaviors.
Source: American Heritage dictionary
