Who We Are

Rainbow Health Ontario (RHO) is a province-wide program that works to improve the health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people in Ontario through education, research, outreach and public policy advocacy. 

Our History

RHO was founded in 2008 by Sherbourne Health Centre (SHC) and the Rainbow Health Network (RHN).

RHO is a program of Sherbourne Health Centre, which has been providing comprehensive primary health programs and services to the LGBT communities since 2003 and frequently provides consultation and expertise on LGBT health issues.

Rainbow Health Network (RHN) is a grass roots organization of community activists and volunteers committed to promoting the health and wellness of people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, in Toronto and beyond.

In 2005, RHN completed a two year project funded by the Federal Primary Care Transitions Fund to build knowledge and capacity in the area of sexual and gender minority health. RHN set up committees to provide education and training, to examine and make recommendations on public policy, and to work on specific concerns facing the transgender and transsexual communities and people in Northern Ontario.

At the end of this two-year project, Sherbourne Health Centre partnered with the Rainbow Health Network to seek funding to build on these initiatives by developing a province-wide resource centre to address LGBT health issues in Ontario. A proposal was submitted to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, and after many consultations, funding was granted for the creation of Rainbow Health Ontario with Sherbourne Health Centre serving as the host organization and RHN acting in an advisory role.

Since 2008, RHO has been generously funded by a grant from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.  As a program with a province-wide mandate, RHO is part of the Planning and Research Branch within the Health System Strategy Division at Queens Park.

The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

Last Updated: May 2013