RAINBOW HEALTH MINNESOTA
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Mission Statement
Rainbow Health's mission is to work for equitable health care access and outcomes for people who experience injustice at the intersection of health status and identity.
About This Cause
For nearly 40 years we have been advocating for and serving the LGBTQ+ community, those living with HIV, and all folks facing barriers to equitable healthcare. Since our formation in 1983 through the Minnesota AIDS Project and Rainbow Health Initiative merger—and later the acquisition of Training to Serve—we have continued to grow and identify new ways to commit to our mission. Rainbow Health provides numerous services to the LGBTQ community and people living with HIV. Our primary program areas include behavioral health, advocacy, training, and human services. Our programs can be broken in to three different focus areas: prevention, empowerment, and advocacy. While the services may seem numerous, each has been started and designed to fit the emerging needs of clients. Together, they provide a holistic base that brings both clients and the community closer to health equity. Prevention: • Minnesota AIDSLine: Provides information about HIV and referrals to services through in-person, phone, text, and web-based services. HIV Testing: Free rapid HIV testing is provided at the Rainbow office and program sites. • LGTBQ Equity and Inclusion Training: Experienced trainers offer sessions both on the LGBTQ Standards of Inclusion and issues faced by the aging LGBTQ population. As part of this, the two-day Opportunity Conference brings health providers, researchers, and policy makers together to address health disparities. • ShiftMN: Fights for healthier LGBTQ communities by promoting smoking cessation, especially amongst young adults. • Syringe Access: In a downtown Minneapolis location, provides access to new syringes, disposal of used syringes, overdose prevention, and on-site services. Empowerment: • Benefits Counseling: Assists people living with HIV navigate health insurance options and coverages, and reaches LGBTQ folks to access public insurance program options. • Behavioral Health Clinic: Provides mental and chemical health services for LGBTQ folks, people living with HIV, and communities that face barriers to competent behavioral health support. • Case Management: Offers long-term assistance to people living with HIV in accessing programs and resources including health insurance, medical care, and maintaining health and basic human needs. • Financial Assistance: To prevent housing and employment crises, one-time and short-term financial assistance is offered for rent, mortgage, security deposits, utilities, medical care, health care premiums, and food for people living with HIV. • Support Groups: HERR Day Out (focused on female-identified individuals) and Positive Link (focused on men who have sex with men) foster communities that provide safe, social outlets for people living with HIV to decrease social isolation. • Housing: Assists individuals and families affected by HIV who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness obtain and maintain safe, affordable housing, including transitional living options. • Legal Services: Helps with HIV-related legal matters including public benefits denial, social security claims, estate planning, discrimination, workplace accommodation, confidentiality, and immigration. • Transportation: Offers transportation to medical care for people living with HIV through taxis and bus passes. Advocacy: • Training to Serve: Trains health care providers on the issues facing aging LGBTQ and HIV-positive individuals. • Trans Health: An experienced attorney advises, assists, and advocates for transgender individuals around health insurance coverage for services and other legal justice issues. • Public Policy: Advances policy priorities that help prevent new HIV infections, keep people living with HIV healthy, and advance health equity for LGBTQ communities. • Voices of Health: An annual survey and report on the health of Minnesota’s LGBTQ communities. Impact: Every year, we serve 2,500 community members across Minnesota. In 2018, we made the following impact through its comprehensive programs: • 517 clients received benefits counseling through 1,936 consultations, and 1,547 consultations were done with other service providers on their clients’ benefits needs • 437 HIV tests were administered • 1,469 contacts were made through education outreach efforts • 251,667 clean syringes were distributed to reduce HIV and Hepatitis C risk • 2,313 contacts were made through the AIDSLine • 100 individuals and families were helped into affordable housing • 1,725 households received emergency financial assistance • 287 clients were provided legal assistance • 482 participated in case management • Nearly 200 patients were seen at the new behavioral health clinic • 98% of clients were insured • 81% of clients had seen a health care provider in the last six months • 89% of clients had suppressed viral loads, meaning they cannot transmit the disease