Youth Minister Nikki Kaye has announced $150,000 in funding over the next three years for RainbowYOUTH to develop and increase support services for LGBTI young people. The major boost to RainbowYOUTH’s funding comes following a government consultation with the LGBTI community which identified a number of shared objectives and ways that government agencies can better support LGBTI young people to reach their potential. “In 2014, 23 organisations received $60,000 under a first round of small grants funding. The support provided by these organisations has included everything from counseling and online help resources, to safe spaces for young people to meet,” says Kaye. “In February 2015, I announced a second round of small grants funding, worth $85,000. This has supported a further 24 projects. “The $150,000 for RainbowYOUTH will help them deliver more services for LGBTI young people across New Zealand. It will also enable them to further strengthen LGBTI groups around the country, through training, mentoring and educational resources.” Last month RainbowYOUTH launched a new video and teaching resource, Inside Out, at a special event in Parliament. The freely available video-based teaching resources and resource packs aim to foster positive relationships between youth and in turn reduce homophobic and transphobic bullying in schools. Kaye says this new funding is “a significant step as it’s the first Government long-term contract with RainbowYOUTH. “They’ve developed a group of people with strong capabilities, and are well positioned to continue their valuable work, support the development of new initiatives and help upskill other organisations.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 16th November 2015 - 10:17am