The RYC - About Us
The Rainbow Youth Coalition works with three main goals in mind. These goals relate to making safer spaces for queer youth in the counties of Peterborough, Northumberland, City of Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton.
- Education: We provide workshops to community groups and organizations on the needs of queer youth. The goal of this work is to increase the inclusiveness of our communities.
- Outreach: By providing settings and events for queer youth to meet and socialize, we hope queer youth will increase their self-esteem and feel more comfortable and capable in their sexual orientation/gender identity.
- Advocacy: We work on behalf of queer youth to encourage the development of safer and inclusive spaces for queer youth.
What We Do: The Dry Details!
The Rainbow Youth Coalition was established in April, 1998 to meet the expressed needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and two spirited youth (LGBTS) in the counties of Haliburton, Peterborough, Northumberland, and the City of Kawartha Lakes. Requests for information and support from youth and their parents revealed a lack of supportive services for LGBTS youth. At the time, a grant of $3000 was secured from the Toronto Coalition for LGBTS Youth to establish programs and services for LGBTS youth in the four county area. Coalition members consist of youth, representatives of various organizations and other individuals who support LGBTS youth.
We are a coalition of service providers who strive to enrich the lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, 2-spirited and questioning youth (ages 14-25) in the counties of Peterborough, Northumberland, Haliburton, and the City of Kawartha Lakes. We do this through education, advocacy and outreach, and by supporting queer youth in the development of their social networks.
To provide a forum for planning, developing, coordinating, implementing and evaluating the delivery of programs for LGBTS youth in the four county area. Coalition members will come together, as appropriate, to develop strategic plans for the delivery of community programs by:
- sharing information/networking,
- fostering effective, ongoing communication among organizations,
- identifying needs and priorities,
- identifying and advocating for program resources,
- identifying appropriate service delivery mechanisms,
- developing and implementing appropriate educational resources and training programs,
- evaluating program implementation and outcomes,
- seeking funding for ongoing program operations.
- to draw attention to issues affecting LGBTS youth living in the four county area,
- to reduce isolation and fear and foster positive growth for LGBTS youth,
- to reduce the stigma of being LGBTS in the educational and service delivery sectors,
- to deliver safer sex messages and HIV information, when and where appropriate, to LGBTS youth,
- to advocate for services and resources for LGBTS youth in the four county area,
- to create positive, supportive and accessible environments and services for LGBTS youth,
- to organize and deliver educational and empowering messages to LGBTS youth in the four county area,
- to provide information and support to the families of LGBTS youth,
- to ensure that the work of the Coalition is defined by the ongoing participation, advice and expressed needs of LGBTS youth in the four county area.
