ABSTRACT
LGBTQIA+ community centers and services agencies are said to be the heart and soul of the community they serve. Supporting the basic needs, human rights, health and healing, and perseverance of the LGBTQIA+ community, the fate of these organizations is a key component to understanding the LGBTQIA+ community at large. It is thus necessary to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on LGBTQIA+ serving agencies when discussing the impact made on the community itself. After first briefly introducing readers to the relevance of LGBTQIA+ serving agencies within the community, this chapter outlines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this important subsector of organizations through the eyes of practitioners. Logistical responses to the challenges of the pandemic are explored through data collected by CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers and through professional reflections submitted by field experts navigating these challenges themselves (primarily staff members of Resource Center, the primary LGBTQIA+ service organization in North Texas). These experiences reveal relevance to public administration research in crisis leadership, sense-making, and collaboration. Relevance to these themes as applied to LGBTQIA+ organizations' response to the pandemic is woven throughout the chapter.
