Rainbow Connections’ Mission


Our mission is to provide mental health support, resources, and advocacy for the LGBTQ+ youth in our rural communities. 

Mission Statement: Rainbow connections is dedicated to providing a safe, inclusive, and affirming space for LGbtq+ youth, where connection with peers, education on life and coping skills, and access to essential mental health resources is available and supported.

Rainbow Connections recognizes the isolation, biases, and limited services that LGBTQ+ youth face in a rural community (Escobar-Viera, C.G., et al., 2022). We aim to uplift LGBTQ+ youth by offering a holistic, strength-based model that focuses on affirmation, community-building, and mental health.

  • Provide dynamic, private, and accessible individual mental-health and advocacy services.

  • Create private safe-spaces where individuals can connect to develop peer support and community.

  • Initiate community outreach and advocacy to provide stakeholder education and increase community support.

  • Hold gender-affirming community events in safe welcoming spaces.

    program objectives:

  • Rainbow Connections prioritizes community partnerships with local schools and youth organizations for the collaboration on LGBTQ+ mental-health care and outreach. Rainbow Connections sets stringent goals for our staff with the goal of making four connections bi-annually.

  • Rainbow Connections emphasizes peer support for LGBTQ+ youth and mandates staff to host at least one weekly peer support group led by a trained LMHC. This group aims to engage at least 8 participants per month. Pre-and post-assessments on feelings of isolation and peer connection are given, and strives to show an improvement in at least 80% of attendees by 8 weeks of group involvement.

  • Rainbow Connections empirically evaluates program success with the goal of 80% of LGBTQ+ youth attending counseling (individual or group) sessions at Rainbow Connections reporting increased self-esteem and acceptance, as measured by pre-and post-scaling assessments.

  • Rainbow Connections strives to provide Telehealth or transportation support to participants who identify technology access or transportation as a significant barrier to accessing care. Rainbow Connections evaluates our goal with the regular polling participants to ensure their technology and transportation needs are being met.