Who We Are

Rainbow Health Ontario (RHO) is a province-wide program that works to improve the health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people in Ontario through education, research, outreach and public policy advocacy. 

We are based at Sherbourne Health Centre in downtown Toronto. Sherbourne has been providing comprehensive primary health programs and services to the LGBT communities since 2003 and frequently provides consultation and expertise on LGBT health issues.

Welcome to our website which provides health information, news and events that promote the health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people in Ontario.

Our History

Rainbow Health Ontario was founded in 2008 by Sherbourne Health Centre (SHC) and the Rainbow Health Network (RHN). 

The Rainbow Health Network is a catalyst and a resource for activities promoting the health and wellness of people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, in Toronto and beyond. Formally, RHN is a reference group of the Coalition of Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario (CLGRO), which brought out Systems Failure: A Report on the Experiences of Sexual Minorities in Ontario's Health-Care and Social-Services Systems in 1997. It was in response to inaction following this comprehensive report that local organizers and community members came together to form Rainbow Health Network, making it their goal to refocus attention on the health inequities facing LGBT people and the poor quality of service delivery to these communities.

In 2005, RHN completed the Ontario Rainbow Health Partnership Project which was funded by the Federal Primary Care Transitions Fund and managed by the Canadian Rainbow Health Coalition, to build knowledge and capacity in the area of sexual and gender minority health. RHN set up committees to provide education and training, to examine and make recommendations on public policy, and to work on specific concerns facing the transgender and transsexual communities and people in Northern Ontario.

At the end of this two-year project, Sherbourne Health Centre partnered with the Rainbow Health Network to seek funding to build on these initiatives by developing a province-wide resource centre to address LGBT health issues in Ontario. In 2007, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care provided a grant to fund Rainbow Health Ontario with Sherbourne Health Centre serving as the host organization and RHN acting in an advisory role. Sherbourne Health Centre provides innovative family health care, counselling and health education to the diverse communities of downtown Toronto. Sherbourne Health Centre serves the local community and provides accessible services to several under-serviced groups, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people, homeless people and newcomers and immigrants to Canada. The LGBT Health Programs have been an integral part of Sherbourne’s services since its inception, and the experience gained from operating the province’s first comprehensive LGBT primary health care program has provided a solid foundation for Rainbow Health Ontario. 


Our Funding

Rainbow Health Ontario has been generously funded by a grant from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the ministry.

             

Last Updated: August 2009