Services

Information & Support

The Rainbow Project provides a range of information and support services to gay and bisexual men, their families and friends, and professionals who also work with members of the LGBT community. These services include:

  • Listening-Ear-Service: support for gay and bisexual men either via the telephone or face-to-face.
  • Information on coming out, being gay, dealing with and reporting homophobia and bi-phobia, domestic violence in same-sex relationships, sign-posting to other available services, etc.
  • nformation on supporting a child, friend, or client who comes out as gay or bisexual.

Please feel free to get in touch if you think we can provide you with information or support in any way.

Education & Training

The Rainbow Project provides specialised training and community education to help professionals offer a more responsive and inclusive service to members of the LGBT community. Training can be tailored to your individual needs of your organisation, services and client group.

Some typical examples of our training programmes include:

  • Raising awareness of the issues that affect the LGBT community in Northern Ireland.
  • Guidelines for working with LGBT people.
  • Supporting clients who disclose their sexual orientation.
  • Making your services more LGBT-friendly.
  • Counselling gay and bisexual men.

For more information about our training packages, please contact us.

Health Promotion

A significant part of our work is promoting physical, sexual, emotional and mental health.

The Rainbow Project employs a Physical and Sexual Health Worker and a Mental Health Development Officer. Their role is to promote health and well-being and to work with statutory agencies to make their services more responsive to the needs of gay and bisexual men.

We also distribute safer sex packs – condoms, lubricant and safer sex information – to commercial gay venues, via the internet, through the LGBT community organisations, genito-urinary medicine clinics, and at major gay-interest events such as Belfast Pride.

We regularly produce and circulate pamphlets, posters and leaflets highlighting the importance of safer sex, looking after your mental health, and highlighting the risks associated with binge-drinking, using illegal drugs, and smoking.

We also run a number of personal development courses for gay and bisexual men which promote healthy lifestyle choices.

Counselling & Therapeutic Support Services

The Rainbow houses Northern Ireland’s only gay-male-specific counselling service. We provide professional counselling for gay and bisexual men, men who are attracted to men, or those unsure of their sexual orientation. Counselling is provided by qualified counsellors who also identify as gay or bisexual. Click here to visit our counselling microsite.

Advocacy

Threats, violence, verbal abuse, intimidation, vandalism and damage, sexual assault and/or coercion are all ways you can be affected by homophobia, hate and discrimination whether it is coming from members of the public or your own family.

The Advocacy Service is there to provide support and information if:

  • You have been or are a victim or a witness to hate crime and/or incidents
  • You are experiencing abuse from your partner or a family member
  • You are having trouble accessing products and services

Our advocacy worker can:

  • Support you in your disclosure and reporting of incidents
  • Advise you of your choice and control over what happens next
  • Accompany you in a supportive role should you wish to take things further with PSNI, NIHE etc
  • Provide information about support and services available to you and your family
  • Speak on your behalf to agencies and service providers
  • Raise awareness of issues you have faced/are facing to improve services in the future
  • Treat all matters with sensitivity and respect for your privacy

To access our Advocacy service, please contact Harriet Long on (028) 9031 9030.

Research

The Rainbow Project regularly undertakes research to highlight issues that affect our community. In 2009 we publised “Through Our Eyes” which examined the perceptions and experiences of LGBT people in  towards homophobic hate crime and policing in Northern Ireland.  In 2006, we published an examination of the mental health needs of same-sex attracted young men entitled “Out on Your Own” by Helen McNamee. The research found that gay and bisexual men are more likely to experience mental health difficulties because of the homophobia and heterosexism that exist within society. For copies of our research, please go to our publications page.

We also contribute to other pieces of research carried out on issues affecting the health of gay and bi-sexual men carried out by other organisations on a regular basis.