TAGALA
      www.tagalaonline.org

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During the months of February, March and April 2007, the Community Resource Committee (CRC) administered a survey designed to collect data about the LGBT community's need or desire for a community center.  On April 21, 2007, the committee gathered to review and interpret the survey responses.

Here are some results worth noting:

• Of the 40 responses, 17 were submitted electronically.
• About 70 percent of all the respondents were between the ages of 31 and 59.
• About 70 percent of all the respondents identified themselves as lesbian.
• Nearly 63 percent of all the respondents indicated that they would be an "occasional visitor" to the center.
• Nearly 50 percent of all the respondents indicated a willingness to serve as a "volunteer" for the center.
• Respondents tended to wish to have the center located with in their own zip codes.
• The most common desired services were services already being provided by established LGBT and/or friendly organizations or businesses.

After much discussion, the members of the CRC agreed that these results do not provide an accurate reflection of the needs of our entire target audience.  Rather they are skewed toward a specific demographic.  Besides issues of distribution and return, the possible reasons for such results must include the possibility that a community center is not of particular interest to the LGBT community at this time.  Perhaps the needs it would serve are currently being met through some other venue.  In any case, the energy and cost of establishing a viable and sustainable community center seems greater than what can be met at this time.  However, the members of the CRC did find that the need to centrally organize the efforts of individuals and organizations within the LGBT community is clearly present.  Therefore, it was decided that a realistically attainable intermediate step toward establishing a community center would be a central office and coordinator that would essentially serve as a "time-share" resource for all participating LGBT organizations.  Planning the promotion and creation of such a resource has now become one goal of the CRC.

The members of the Community Resource Committee would like to thank all those who took the time to participate in the community center survey, and invite you to visit this site again to keep abreast of our future efforts.