Social Services Use and Need Among Gay /Lesbian Residents of the San Francisco Bay Area

Abstract Data were gathered concerning use, need for, experience with social services, knowledge of services available, and preference for service provider from 394 gay/lesbian respondents in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as from a sample of agency staff. The majority of gay/lesbian respondents were white, well educated and young. Service need was higher than service use. A wide variety of concerns were identified as areas of service need. Seventy-one percent of respondents felt that there were important difficulties in the use of straight counselors. Fifty percent of the case workers but only one of the seven administrators who returned a completed questionnaire thought that special services were required by the gay/lesbian community. This study documents the need for additional services to the gay/lesbian community in the San Francisco Area and offers directions for selection of service priorities.