Rainbow Community Center of Contra Costa County

Rainbow Community Center of Contra Costa County exists to build community, equity and well-being among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual or agender, and two-spirit people and their allies. The center in Concord is the county's home for affirming care and connection, with a front desk that welcomes drop-in visitors Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Its motto, Support. Empower. Belong., describes the approach: care delivered in spaces where people are seen and respected exactly as they are.

Clinical Services are the center of the work. Licensed clinicians and supervised clinical interns offer individual, couples, family and adolescent therapy for anxiety, depression, trauma and other life challenges, along with gender-affirming counseling that includes identity exploration, transition support and letters and documentation. Case management and resource navigation connect clients to housing, health care and benefits, and therapeutic and peer-led support groups give people a place to talk with others who understand. Care is offered to individuals, couples and families, youth and young adults, and older adults. Providers can also refer a client directly.

Sexual health is a core part of the program. Rainbow provides confidential HIV testing with rapid results in as little as 20 minutes, STI testing, PrEP navigation, treatment referrals and safer sex supplies. Evening clinics with Contra Costa Health run every Tuesday in Concord, Wednesday in Pittsburg and Thursday in San Pablo from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., and Medi-Cal, Contra Costa Health Plan and Family PACT are accepted.

Young people have several doors in. The Houseless Transitional Youth Program serves unhoused LGBTQIA2S+ youth ages 12 to 24, including youth in foster care, with short-term safe shelter, hotel vouchers for eligible youth 18 and older, rideshare, BART and bus support, food and clothing, relocation funds, medication assistance, counseling and help moving toward permanent supportive housing. Youth Group meets Mondays from 4 to 5 p.m. for ages 12 to 25, with peer support, leadership development and events.

Older adults are part of the community too. The Senior Lunch meets in person on the fourth Thursday of each month, the Senior Zoom keeps people connected from home, and the Trans Adult Coffee Hour offers a relaxed space for trans and nonbinary adults.

Rainbow also teaches. Its trainers deliver customized workshops, consultations, speakers and panels for employers, schools and organizations, and host learning communities for families. Teachers, nonprofit leaders and corporate managers have described trainings that changed how their teams work with gender-expansive people. Rainbow is not a crisis center, but it keeps a list of crisis lines on its site. Neighbors can volunteer at weekly and monthly events, serve at the front desk, shop the center's store, or donate. Volunteers, from front desk greeters to event helpers, are part of daily life at the center, and partners including Contra Costa Behavioral Health Services and the county health department's AIDS Program help fund its programs. Rainbow marked its 30th anniversary with a celebration of its history and a re-inauguration of its renewed space, a new chapter for a center that has served the county since it became an independent nonprofit in 1996.