A sense of belonging

A listening ear, and somewhere to turn, for rainbow youth.

InsideOUT is a national organisation which works with youth, whānau, schools and communities to make Aotearoa New Zealand a safer place for all rainbow young people to live and be in.

Having somewhere to turn

“One person in every 12 identifies as having a minority sexuality, and New Zealand statistics show four in 100 identify as transgender or question their gender. It's significant, it's a few people in each class, or hundreds in a school." says InsideOut national co-ordinator Tabby Besley.

For many young people still working out their identity, having somewhere to turn can prove difficult, leading them to face greater challenges in their life.

"Many struggle or leave school because of bullying, hostility or fear. We can provide a range of information, resources, training and support to foster environments that will reduce bullying behaviour and develop an inclusive student culture." says Tabby.

The impact of lockdown

With many of their youth development programmes, and fundraising activities, reliant on being face-to-face, the repercussions of lockdown have hit the team hard.

“With the ever-changing restrictions due to Covid-19, many of the fundraising events we rely on for support couldn’t go ahead.” says Tabby.

And it isn’t just the team that have found the uncertainty hard. For many rainbow youth, lockdown meant being disconnected from the people they rely on most – their friends.

“Without their support network, many of our young people found themselves at home with potentially unsupportive parents, in need of somewhere to turn. We worked hard to adapt our programmes and bring them online so that anyone needing it, had a place to go.” says Tabby.

While raising funds, and filling shortfalls that once weren’t there, has become more challenging than ever for this small non-profit, the need keeps growing.

“Lockdown was a time of reflection for many people – as a result, we are receiving more calls than ever from young people, and concerned parents.” says Tabby.

“We rely on the generosity of local people to deliver our services, now more than ever.”

A helping hand

Thanks to the support of a Nikau Foundation donor, they have been able to continue programmes which provide huge impact locally.

“We have directed some of the gift to our volunteer programme. And been able to keep our Wellington school coordinator, who, due to decreases in our funding, faced a reduction in their hours. Support like this is really transformational for us.”

If you would like to know more about how we can support our rainbow youth, please get in touch with us today.