Rainbow Health
701 S 4th Avenue, Suite 1500 Minneapolis, MN 55415 rainbowhealth.org
(612) 373-9972
For 40 years, Rainbow Health has centered on health equity by understanding and responding to the health needs of Minnesota’s LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS communities using a person-centric approach to holistic health.
In honor of World AIDS Day
Reflecting on the remarkable history, people, and progress from our inception as the Minnesota AIDS Project
Health Scene!
Rainbow Health
November 22, 2023
In the spring of 1983, one year after becoming the first Minnesotan to be diagnosed with AIDS, Bruce Brockway co-founded the state’s first organization devoted to supporting people living with HIV and AIDS.
The Minnesota AIDS Project (MAP) became a beacon of hope over the next 40 years, helping countless individuals live longer, healthier, and more fulfilling lives. Fast forward to today, we proudly carry on Brockway’s and MAP’s legacy through Rainbow Health.
Join us on the eve of World AIDS Day to celebrate the past forty years and look toward the future of Rainbow Health at Sustaining a Legacy.
We can’t wait to celebrate with you. Reserve your tickets today!
Rainbow Health: Sustaining a Legacy
Thursday, November 30
5:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Humphrey School of Public Affairs
301 South 19th Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
All Gender Health 2023
Join us for another transformative event!
Health Scene!
Rainbow Health
September 27, 2023
We are excited to announce that the All Gender Health (AGH) conference is back for 2023, and we can't wait to have you join us for another transformative event!
All Gender Health 2023 will be uniting leaders in trans, non-binary, and intersex health and law. This year's theme, Beyond Barriers, Beyond Binaries, reflects our dedication to breaking down obstacles and navigating the complex landscapes of healthcare and legal advocacy.
As always, this community event is free, and your presence is essential in making it a resounding success. We encourage you to invite friends, colleagues, and allies who share our commitment to inclusive healthcare and legal advocacy.
Saturday, October 28th
9:00 - 3:00 pm
Mitchell Hamline School of Law
875 Summit Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55105
Violet Directory is live!
The online directory for providers and educational articles dedicated to connecting LGBTQ+ community.
Health Scene!
Rainbow Health
Browse the online directory for providers and educational articles dedicated to connecting LGBTQ+ seniors, and those living with HIV, with affirming, equitable healthcare options.
September 13, 2023
Whether you’re looking for HIV testing sites, HIV-related public programs, or LGBTQ+ aging-friendly services in Minnesota, Violet Directory has you covered. Our comprehensive listings include medical care, mental health care, housing, home health aids, transportation, and so much more.
We’re always adding new providers and resources, so make sure to bookmark the directory to check for updates easily.
Have Questions? Send our Violet team an e-mail with your questions, feedback, and community recommendations!
We Are Moving!
Rainbow Health is relocating their main office to downtown Minneapolis.
Health Scene!
Rainbow Health
After careful consideration and planning, Rainbow Health is relocating their main office to downtown Minneapolis.
August 30, 2023
This move is a result of the organization’s commitment to enhancing our services and providing an even more comfortable and accepting environment for both our team and clients.
Our new address will be:
701 South 4th Avenue
Suite 1500
Minneapolis, MN 55415
We’re looking forward to providing you with our full range of services in a space that offers:
Floor-to-ceiling windows and a skyline view
On-site, validated 2-hour parking
Sound-proof, private rooms
Mental Health Support
Benefits Counseling
Insurance Navigation
Transportation Services
Fully staffed front desk
And more!
If you have been using our services remotely and prefer to continue doing so, we will be doing hybrid services for your comfort.
If you have any questions or concerns about the relocation or how it might impact your services, please do not hesitate to reach out to your primary contact at Rainbow Health, or you can contact our main office at 612-341-2060 or communications@rainbowhealth.org.
We’re also planning to welcome the community during an Open House event in October. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this transition!
This Pride Give OUT Loud!
We’re participating in
Give OUT Day
Health Scene!
Rainbow Health
This Pride Month, we’re participating in Give OUT Day, a month-long fundraising campaign
June 21, 2023
This Pride Month, we’re participating in Give OUT Day, a month-long fundraising campaign culminating on June 28: the only national day of giving for the LGBTQ+ community. Rainbow Health is raising $5,000 to fund:
- Mental health services for LGBTQ+ youth and adults, as well as those living with HIV
- LGBTQ+ and HIV+ Aging Initiative as the statewide partner of SAGE, the nation’s LGBTQ+ senior advocacy and services organization
- HIV testing, PREP administration, safer sex kit distribution, clean syringe access, and other risk reduction efforts
- And much more!
Donations from June 1 through Give OUT Day also count toward Leaderboard prizes: thousands in additional dollars that go to organizations with the most unique donors in their category!
Walk To End HIV
Announcing Our Speaker & Performance Lineup!
Health Scene!
Rainbow Health
We’re just a few days away from the 34th annual MN Walk to End HIV! Take a peek at our exciting lineup of speakers, live performances, and activities you can expect to see next Saturday.
May 10, 2023
Proceeds from the #MNWalktoEndHIV will provide crucial services for Minnesotans living with HIV. This includes affordable medication, mental health counseling, medical case management, housing stability, financial assistance, transportation, and so much more.
Featured Speaker
Rep. Leigh Finke
Minnesota State Representative Leigh Finke represents District 66A in Saint Paul. She is the first trans woman elected to the legislature in Minnesota. She serves on the Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy, Human Services Policy, Judiciary Finance and Civil Law, and Legacy Committee. She is also the Chair of the Queer Caucus, which was first formed in 2023. Rep. Finke is a long-time resident of Saint Paul’s Midway neighborhood. In her legislative career, she is committed to advocating for LGBTQ equality and abortion rights.
Drag Performances
Dick Von Dyke
Emcee
Dick Von Dyke is the Twin Cities' triple threat: a drag king, emcee, and musician. What can't he do? He will charm you with his song and dance, while seducing you with his wit. Originally from Saint Louis, Missouri and now a staple at LUSH Lounge & Theater, Crave, and more! Host of the "Dick Von Dyke Show", a fabulously queer variety show with a big gay heart at Black Hart!
Juan Keyai
Juan Keyai (Juankie for short) is a Minneapolis-based drag artist. Juankie is described lovingly by their mom as “the pendejito with the voice of an angel”. Their drag journey began a few years ago in the Pacific Northwest, where they took home the top prize in several competitions, and a title of Princess of the Evergreen Empire. They love to mix pop art and their Mexican heritage to create iconic moments on stage.
Live Performances
Queer Circus
Queer Circus's mission has been to promote queer and non-binary visibility, while offering an all-inclusive space for performers and audiences. Over 5 years, Queer Circus performed at the Minnesota Fringe Festival, Fine Line Cafe, The Pourhouse, Twin Cities Pride and many Pride events. Queer Circus has continued to develop and resulted in many recurring shows:“Queer Circus”, “Can Can Circusland” and “Rainbow Kids Circus” at multiple venues such as Can Can Wonderland and LUSH Lounge & Theater.
Jaz Steele
is a musical artist/songwriter from North Minneapolis, MN. She traveled throughout the United States singing and pursuing her dreams and also traveled and toured Europe with her mother, Jevetta Steele, performing in Gospel in Colonus. Jaz Steele is a graduate from Norfolk State University with her degree in Business to pursue her own business in music. She isn’t just a hip-hop artist but she sings R&B, Soul, Gospel, Pop, a little bit of Jazz, raps and more. She also got the pleasure to open up for Jacquees and Megan Thee Stallion at NSU. She wants her music to make people pop, lock and drop it and to steal the hearts of the crowd; and eventually the world. Currently she has 4 projects out called “BAKU”, “Marinara Shawty”, "My Side of the Story” and her newest album “Good Grief”.
Get Free Coffee on Us!
From now until May 2nd
Health Scene!
Rainbow Health
Share about why you walk on social media for a chance to get a free coffee on us!
April 26, 2023
Six winners will be chosen randomly and notified.
Here’s how to enter:
Be registered for the MN Walk to End HIV
Share why you’re walking to end HIV on May 13th on IG, TW, or FB.
Use hashtag #WhyIWalktoEndHIV
Tag @rainbowhealthmn
Thanks to our in-kind sponsors:
Rainbow Health Receives $2 Million Grant
To help hundreds of our most vulnerable young people
Health Scene!
Rainbow Health
Partnership to Expand Mental Health Care for LGBTQ+ and BIPOC Youth in Minnesota
March 29, 2023
Rainbow Health has received the the largest private gift in our organization’s history: a $2 million, 3-year grant from the United Health Foundation that will help hundreds of our most vulnerable young people get the care and support they need. More than a donation, this collaboration will expand access to life-affirming and life-saving mental health to LGBTQ+ and youth and young adults of color. It will directly address the high rates of suicide, depression, and anxiety in our community and provide young people with the validation and support to help them thrive.
It will do this, first, by directly providing culturally responsive, high-quality, affirming mental health therapy to more than 250 youth ages 14-25 and their families; and second, by connecting these young people to other services like peer support, legal advocacy, transportation, housing, and substance use support. It’s this ‘whole person care’ model pioneered in the fight against AIDS that’s also needed now for other health issues that LGBTQ and BIPOC communities face.
Why is this care so important? Because LGBTQ youth in our country are in a mental health crisis. In Rainbow Health’s 2021 Voices of Health survey of more than 1,300 LGBTQ Minnesotans, 4 out of 5 reported experiencing moderate to severe mental distress. One of the main causes of this crisis is that LGBTQ+ youth in our country and our community are increasingly at risk of attack; just turn on the news and you can see how every day they and we hear of new anti-LGBTQ+ policies are being proposed and adopted.
Now more than ever – it is vital that our community provide our young people with greater access to affirming and accessible mental health care that is:
Life-affirming and tells our young people that they are valued;
Tells our young people that there are trained adults working to help keep them safe and;
Helps young people to be their authentic selves.
We are so grateful for partners like the United Health Foundation for stepping up to support this life-saving work. We know that Rainbow Health cannot solve the health issues in our community alone and only through partnership – like this one with United Health Foundation – can we have the biggest impact possible and reach those who need help.
Easing the Pain:
HIV & Chemical Addiction
Health Scene!
Rainbow Health
At Rainbow Health, our chemical addiction program provides services across the LGBTQ+ community
March 1, 2023
Among people living with HIV, the pervasiveness of chemical addiction is particularly high. A November 19, 2019, study published in the National Library of Medicine found the prevalence of Alcohol Use Disorder among people living with HIV and AIDS in developed countries was 42.09%. That’s almost half, and that doesn’t take into account the use of other illicit drugs.
Substance abuse has been intrinsically linked to HIV since the earliest days of the epidemic. In fact, intravenous drug use remains a common risk factor in the transmission of HIV. But, that’s not the only role drugs and alcohol play in HIV. Chemical addiction is oftentimes a coping mechanism for the pain, shame and loneliness HIV survivors feel.
It’s not surprising that living with HIV every day brings with it a pandora’s box of emotions and experiences that are unique to this population. Add in aging over decades, losing friends and partners while simultaneously trying to cope with and manage the disease, and it’s not hard to understand how people living with HIV may find themselves battling chemical addiction on top of it all.
Here are just a few of the many stories of people who turned to Rainbow Health for help:
Jeff
“If I didn’t have [Rainbow Health] to come to, where would I go? Where would anybody who struggles with addiction go, we’d die.”
Rea
“I was numbing any way I could. Anything to make me not feel the shame and the pain that I was having behind finding out I was [HIV] positive.”
Rainbow Health’s MN Walk to End HIV
Saturday, May 13th, 2023
Scene Story!
Queer Media & Pop Culture
Rainbow Health to hold its 34th Annual MN Walk to End HIV on Saturday, May 13th, 2023, at Harriet Island in Saint Paul
Join us for the 34th Annual MN Walk to End HIV as we commemorate Rainbow Health’s 40th year of working to end HIV. The Walk to End HIV started as the Minnesota AIDS Walk in 1988, the first event being held at Minnehaha Regional Park. Since then, the walk has raised millions of dollars in support of HIV prevention and care initiatives in Minnesota. Significant progress has been made over the years, but the work is not finished.
According to 2020 data from the Minnesota Department of Health, there are nearly 9,500 people living with HIV in Minnesota, and an estimated 300 Minnesotans are infected with HIV every year throughout the state. Approximately 2,500 Minnesotans living with HIV do not have access to the medical care necessary to help them live long, healthy lives.
The MN Walk to End HIV is a historic community event that raises support for all those affected by HIV, celebrates the advancements and achievements of those working to end HIV, and honors those in the community we’ve lost in our fight to end HIV. It will feature special speakers and performances, food trucks, sponsors, exhibitors, and more! So rally your family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues to help us continue taking strides to end HIV.
SAVE THE DATE
Saturday, May 13, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Central
Harriet Island Regional Park, 200 Dr Justus Ohage Blvd, Saint Paul, MN 55107
Sponsorship, exhibition, and volunteer opportunities will be available. Contact us at: communications@rainbowhealth.org for more information.
This event supports Rainbow Health’s work toward providing comprehensive services, support, and resources to community members living with HIV or facing barriers to equitable healthcare access and outcomes because of their gender, sexuality, HIV status or racial identity.
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