Engage!

Rain­bow Resource Cen­tre began as a stu­dent group at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Man­i­to­ba in the ear­ly 1970s. First known as the Cam­pus Gay Club, the name was changed in 1973 to Gays for Equal­i­ty.

In 1988, the group changed again and became Win­nipeg Gay/​Lesbian Resource Cen­tre, estab­lish­ing itself as an inde­pen­dent orga­ni­za­tion in a new loca­tion at Con­fu­sion Cor­ner. The Resource Cen­tre was incor­po­rat­ed as a non-prof­it orga­ni­za­tion and applied for char­i­ta­ble tax sta­tus under the legal name of Man­i­to­ba Insti­tute on Soci­ety and Sex­u­al­i­ty.

The Cen­tre evolved once more in 1999, chang­ing its name to Rain­bow Resource Cen­tre. The rea­son for this change was due to a real­iza­tion and response to be more inclu­sive of all mem­bers of the 2SLGBTQ+ com­mu­ni­ties, and thus the Centre’s mis­sion expand­ed to serve Manitoba’s gay, les­bian, bisex­u­al, trans­gen­der, and two-spir­it communities.

Rain­bow Resource Cen­tre offers sup­port to the 2SLGBTQ+ com­mu­ni­ty in the form of coun­selling, edu­ca­tion, and pro­gram­ming for indi­vid­u­als rang­ing from chil­dren through to 55±. It also sup­ports fam­i­lies, friends, and employ­ers of 2SLGBTQ+ individuals. 

Rain­bow Resource Cen­tre’s Edu­ca­tion Pro­gram pro­vides 2SLGBTQ+ and ally edu­ca­tion, aware­ness, and out­reach that assists health­care providers, edu­ca­tors, stu­dents, social ser­vice, and com­mer­cial ser­vice providers. 

The Youth Pro­gram offers 2SLGBTQ+ youth a safe, fun place to learn new skills, cre­ate projects, and cel­e­brate iden­ti­ties. Rain­bow Resource Cen­tre also has a vol­un­teer pro­gram, com­mu­ni­ty library, and coor­di­nates the com­mu­ni­ty-led groups and com­mit­tees that meet at Rain­bow Resource Centre. 

Rain­bow Resource Cen­tre is locat­ed on Treaty One Territory.