Windsor-Essex Pride Fest Launches The Qmunity Needs Assessment Survey

Windsor Essex Pride Fest has launched a Qmunity Windsor-Essex Needs Assessment, thanks to a $128,300 Resilient Communities Grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF).

“This investment by the Ontario Trillium Foundation helps the Windsor-Essex Pride Fest and all service providers and community leaders gain a better understanding of the needs of our 2SLGBTQIA+ community across Windsor-Essex through an updated needs assessment,” said MPP Andrew Dowie. “Given that it’s been more than a decade since the most recent iteration of the assessment, I look forward to seeing our Pride community’s feedback reflected in this new report and to continuing our work together improving the services Pride Fest offers to Windsor-Essex.”

The grant, first awarded in July 2022, has helped Windsor Essex Pride Fest rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19 by providing it with the necessary resources to conduct a regional assessment of needs in the local 2-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual (2SLGBTQIA+) community over one year.

While Windsor-Essex is home to a diverse and intersectional 2SLGBTQIA+ community that is strong, resilient, and resourceful, research shows that the community is disproportionately affected by physical & mental health issues and economic, social, and political inequities. 2SLGBTQIA+ needs are often overlooked or misunderstood.

The survey project includes regional community consultations, regional assessment survey, focus groups and more to help the Windsor-Essex Pride Fest and services providers and community leaders gain a better understanding and provide better and more relevant programming.

For more information and to take the survey, visit www.wepridefest.com/weqmunityna.