KANSAS CITY, Mo. — What is it like to live in Kansas City as a member of the LGBTQ+ community? The University of Missouri-Kansas City wants to know.
The university is teaming up with the Pride Charitable Fund and the city of Kansas City, Missouri, in launching a needs assessment survey they're calling Voices of Pride.
I spoke with Dr. Karin Chang, associate director of the Urban Education Research Center at UMKC, about the project. She told me Kansas City is one of the few large cities in the United States that hasn't ever conducted such a survey.
The survey — live online right now in English and Spanish — asks respondents questions on a wide variety of topics, ranging from healthcare availability to representation and even if the respondent has been a victim of violence.
I reached out to the city about the financial commitment to the project. The project is funded thanks to a grant from ReBuild KC, a branch of the city's Neighborhood Services Department.
From 2022-2023, the city poured nearly $20 million of American Rescue Plan Act funding into the neighborhood grant program, specifically so different organizations could apply.
This survey from UMKC is funded by a $45,458 grant from that program.
It will be available online until mid-August and is open to anyone living in the KC area.
Dr. Chang told me that she and the researchers involved in the survey hope members of the LGBTQ+ community use this opportunity to not only identify things that are missing from Kansas City that they want to see but also highlight things that are already in place other members of the community may not know about.
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