The Rainbow Hub at St James Street, is a local point of contact for LGBT+ people seekingĀ up to date help, information or guidance,Ā inĀ a safe, non-judgemental environment in the heart of the gay village.
VOLUNTEERS are providing a welcoming drop-in space to help people and where necessary refer them on to one or more of the city’s extensive network of partner organisations for further support.
The space is also open to partner organisations wishing to reach out to their user base, and one such partner ā the Brighton and Hove LGBT Community Safety Forum – has a permanent home there.
The Rainbow Hub has recently launched an early version of their websiteĀ which will grow and expand to reflect the needs of our communities as the organisation continues toĀ develop.
The Rainbow Hub is currently open with restricted hours: Monday thru Saturday 12:00 ā 15:00. These will steadily increase during November. Keep an eye on the website and the message board in the window for updates.
So why isn’t The Rainbow Hub fully open yet?
There was a deceptively large amount of work to be done before The Rainbow Hub is fully open for business. Much of this work derives from that fact that this is a physical space providing a service to a wide variety of people who might walk in off the street. Managers are ensuring that the health, safety and wellbeing of their volunteers and service users are at the forefront of everything they do.
At the moment they are busy recruiting volunteers; building and delivering training programs; drafting their policies and procedures; installing an accessible toilet; setting up basic office systems and generally making this a great space for everyone.
Meet the team ā this month Joel Boardman
Recruiting and training a large number of new volunteers to an appropriate level is a huge task and this is being coordinated byĀ Joel Boardman.
Joel is the new Volunteer Coordinator and is currently focused on building recruitment and training programmes for all volunteers. Joel is experienced in people management and service delivery, currently working for the UKās largest wig company managing the head office team.
He has worked in advisory and management roles for financial companies, as well as volunteering in money advice and local community causes. Being openly gay himself, Joel has faced personal instances of homophobia and prejudice, which he feels have made him wiser and strengthened his abilities to empathise with and inspire others.
He is extremely passionate about the values of the project and is really excited to begin giving back to a community he is proud to be a part of.
If youād like to volunteer at the Rainbow Hub, email: joel@therainbowhubbrighton.com
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