Dr. Rainbow is a proud conception of Covenant House, a nonprofit centered in Charleston, WV.
Covenant House has a long and proud history as advocates for both rural health and LGBTQ rights. Since the 1980’s, the organization has stood firmly against discrimination and opened the only comprehensive resource program for people living with HIV/AIDS. As advocates before West Virginia’s supreme court, Covenant House has argued that “All people in West Virginia have a right to shelter, food, and medical care.” West Virginia was the second state in the nation to provide these basic rights.
Dr. Rainbow came into existence as the result of the dedicated WV Tobacco Prevention Program staff, who rallied behind Covenant House’s radical idea that if we link people to culturally competent healthcare, we can reduce health disparities, including smoking-related illnesses.
In building Dr. Rainbow, Covenant House staff travelled to every corner of the state to reach out to our LGBTQ community. Our resource guide is composed of the voices from our queer communities in Wheeling, Morgantown, Kingswood, Charleston, Huntington, Lewisburg, Fayetteville, Shepherdstown, and beyond. We participated at community events and visited queer spaces throughout the state asking our LGBTQ family to identify what healthcare providers they personally use who are LGBTQ culturally competent and affirming. In addition, we conducted cultural competency trainings for providers and reached out to providers interested in joining our movement. We created a statewide resource guide to help reduce isolationism and link people to a variety of support systems throughout the state. Dr. Rainbow’s information is not based on algorithms, but on real West Virginians coming forward to highlight the wonderful healthcare providers and community resources who “welcome all kinds.”
Dr. Rainbow can’t stop all stigma and discrimination. It won’t magically fix everything, but this is where we begin to rewrite our story. This is where we come together to take care of each other, to link each other to the best West Virginia has to offer, and to affirm that it’s good to be queer in the mountain state.
Dr. Rainbow is a testament to every fearless LGBTQ West Virginian who shared their healthcare story and kept us going to make this resource happen.
