Sexual and Gender Minority Online Resource Hub Launched in Honor of Pride Month in June

In honor of Pride Month, the Hawai‘i Department of Health today launched the Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) online resource hub.

This is the first DOH website dedicated to resources for SGM (also known as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other, or LGBTQ+) people in Hawai‘i, as well as their loved ones and allies.

The site was developed by the DOH SGM Workgroup, a multi-sector collaboration of various state agencies and community stakeholders, in partnership with the DOH Harm Reduction Services Branch. 

“The SGM group exemplifies the importance of having everyone at the table,” said Jen Jenkins, Community Co-Chair of the SGM Workgroup in a department press release. “Our collective voices and experiences produced this website, which adds to our work of improving the health and well-being of LGBTQ+ people across the state.”

The SGM Workgroup identified a community need for an online hub for local resources, among priorities that included data reports, legislative protections, and intersex health. The resources and materials on the SGM Online Resource Hub were recommended by members of the SGM Workgroup and the site includes topics such as gender, health, education, safe spaces, ‘ohana support, and legal. DOH continues to rely on workgroup members and community partners to contribute to the ongoing development and relevancy of the online resource.  

“With recent federal updates on healthcare protections for transgender people, it is more important than ever that we launch of this resource hub,” said Thaddeus Pham, DOH Co-Chair of the SGM Workgroup. “We look to the thoughtful and insightful contributions from our workgroup members and community stakeholders to make the website a robust, evolving, and perennial resource for our SGM ‘ohana.”

To access the resource hub, visit https://health.hawaii.gov/sexual-gender-minorities.

According to the Department of Health, the launch of the SGM Online Resource Hub was motivated by support and requests for greater public health action following the publication of the inaugural 2017 Hawai‘i Sexual and Gender Minority Health Report.