Partnering With LGBTQ+ Communities: The Issues

Abstract

What issues and considerations are involved in developing and facilitating service-learning projects with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) communities? This chapter presents results of examining the limited scholarship on service-learning projects conducted with these communities. The author proposes possible reasons for the lack of scholarship and offers suggestions for pre-, during-, and post-project considerations. These suggestions include identifying and surveying potential collaborators, preparing students for engaging with the communities, facilitating reflection during the project, and debriefing students afterward, along with analyzing results in order to improve future collaboration efforts.