Supporting Rainbow Rangatahi

RainbowYOUTH provide one-on-one support, information and advocacy for intersex, queer and gender diverse youth. Their mission is to see all young people thriving in Aotearoa.

“Our core service is to run peer support groups, including in Taranaki. These are youth led and youth run, with young people aged 13 to 27 (who are) enthusiastic to get involved in their community,” said Ally Johnson, Grant Coordinator.

RainbowYOUTH’s Taranaki service started with limited funding and ran on a shoestring budget. Toi Foundation funding over the past two years has enabled a regional coordinator and created social and support opportunities throughout Taranaki.

“In Taranaki our New Plymouth Drop-in Centre just had its two-year anniversary,” said Wesley Milne, former Taranaki regional coordinator.

“We’re open two days a week. It’s a space for young people to hang out, use the Wi-Fi and access clothes from our community wardrobe that affirm their identity. It’s a hub for the community, and other services utilise it as well, so it’s an asset for all of our rainbow whānau, not just RY.”

“We’ve had nearly 700 sign-ins to our Drop-in Centre and more have accessed support or attended events and workshops. When I added up the maths, the overall impact was 1400 people over two years, which is pretty epic to see.”

RainbowYOUTH also run pop-up drop-ins and social groups in other Taranaki communities like Opunake, Stratford and Hāwera and works closely with local high schools to ensure that young people can access support when they need it.

“In 2022 we ran a four-day Queer Camp at TOPEC,” said Benson Dando-Andrews: Interim Taranaki regional coordinator.

“It was almost like a school camp for our 17-and-under queer rangatahi, so they could have an authentic camp experience without judgement and being able to show up as themselves.”