The Rainbow Project has launched their largest and most ambitious survey to date aimed at capturing the lived realities of LGBTQIA+ people across Northern Ireland. The survey hopes to gather experiences around public safety, community services, and public services such as health and education.
The Belfast component of the survey is being carried out by Out Connections Belfast, a collaborative project of The Rainbow Project, HereNI and Cara-Friend, which forms part of the €17.1m Belfast PEACEPLUS Local Community Action Plan (a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body [SEUPB]), and is being delivered by Belfast City Council.
Previous surveys gathered over 1000 responses which fed into and informed the work of the organisation, helping shape The Rainbow Project’s services and campaigning priorities.
Scott Cuthbertson, CEO of The Rainbow Project, said “In all of our work, we strive to make sure that we’re listening to LGBTQIA+ people in Northern Ireland and responding to their needs. Our services have developed to directly in response to community feedback – the expansion of our counselling services, our social supports, sexual health testing, all have changed and evolved to respond to what our communities need. It’s vital that LGBTQIA+ people across the region respond to the survey and tell us what’s important to them.”
The survey will remain open until the end of February, but responses from Belfast are encouraged by the 30th of January to ensure that the findings are included in the Out Connections Belfast project.