The Rainbow Peer Project was born from the challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community in accessing affirming healthcare, especially mental health services. Many individuals experience medical trauma due to a lack of LGBTQ+ affirming care, leading some to discontinue seeking help altogether. Alarmingly, suicide rates among LGBTQ+ youth are high, with at least one attempt every 45 seconds in the U.S., according to The Trevor Project.

We believe that affirming providers and a holistic approach to LGBTQ+ care can significantly reduce trauma and suicide rates. That's why we're dedicated to ensuring that individuals in our community have access to peer support services that meet their unique needs. Our goal is to provide inclusive, educated, and meaningful support across Pennsylvania, regardless of geographical or service area inequities.

This two-part grant will focus first on building a curriculum that focuses on creating a specialized peer workforce within the LGBTQIA+ Community. This course will be three-days long and will address areas such as gender affirming care, providing trauma informed care, and being knowledgeable about the complexities of the culture such as transitioning and the coming out process. PMHCA will provide this training throughout the state to create a diverse workforce of peers for the LGBTQIA+ Community.

In the second and third years, PMHCA will employ peers that will be trained on this material and provide peer-to-peer teleheath services to the LGBTQIA+ community throughout the state, focusing on rural areas that do not have gender affirming care available. 

Questions? Contact us at PMHCA@pmhca.org.