It has been the norm that people who identify with the Rainbow/LGBTIQA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans*, Intersex, Queer/Questioning, and Asexual) community have lived in our Aged Care residencies or at our Rooming House, accessed our Women’s Services, frequented our engagement hubs and received support via our case management programs.
Due to a growing understanding of the complexity of sexual and gender diversity and fluidity, plus the potential barriers to accessibility, in 2015 SHM formed the Rainbow Collective (formerly known as the LGBTIQA+ Working Group) to focus on access, equity and responses to issues for clients who identify as part of the Rainbow community.
About the Rainbow Collective
Since its inception, this group has focussed on educating staff on how we ensure LGBTIQA+ clients are welcomed and not discriminated against. Rainbow Collective members have attended training on LGBTIQA+ inclusion and worked with the training team to deliver this in-house, to support our staff in building inclusive services.
Staff have already undergone significant diversity training and a recruitment drive has led to interest from all divisions of the Mission, to ensure a comprehensive and inclusive process, considering client issues, human resources developments, and impact on our strategic thinking and developments.
The Rainbow Collective will continue to work across the organisation to improve diversity and inclusion processes, and to keep staff and clients engaged in our activities.
Our progress in this area will be monitored via our quality improvement process, included in our annual diversity planning, and signed off by our Executive and Board.
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