Rainbow Street joins together international solidarity with localized expertise to promote our 6 core programming goals:

1. Direct Aid

Mobilize to provide regular cash stipends to exceptionally vulnerable LGBT people to alleviate the challenges of homelessness, food insecurity, and other barriers to dignity and self-determination.

2. Information

Maintain a secure database of local LGBT-competent service providers; provide counseling and referrals to individuals in need.

3. Health

Work with local service providers to promote the mental and physical health of local LGBT community members.

4. Community & Self Expression

Foster trusting relationships by providing secure opportunities for community dialogue and self-expression.

5. Media

Nurture public acceptance of LGBT people by promoting humanizing portrayals of LGBT people in local media outlets.

6. Education & Advocacy

In the MENA region, teach LGBT sensitivity to local leaders and organizations; internationally, advocate for the rights and protections for LGBT people everywhere.

To learn about our beneficiaries, read their stories

Who we are

Rainbow Street is an international community of volunteer activists and generous grassroots supporters who are committed to the organization’s mission. Rainbow Street founders are Jordanian and American. Rainbow Street is a California nonprofit corporation; it is tax-exempt under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3). Meet the team

What makes us unique

We've seen how, when it comes to chronic homelessness for LGBT people in the MENA region, partial or short-term assistance doesn’t cut it. If people have anything less than the full amount for rent, they’re on the street. If assistance only lasts a month or two, there’s little they can do to raise the funds needed for being on their own again. And community shelters present security threats too dangerous to risk.

Until someone enjoys guaranteed, long-term housing, permanent security will remain far out of reach.

That’s why Rainbow Street has created a scattered urban housing program to provide for the most vulnerable queer and trans folks in the cities where we work. Beneficiaries are granted monthly stipends designed to cover the full cost of all necessary expenses, including rent, food, clothing, healthcare costs, internet access, and local transportation. Meanwhile, a trained Rainbow Street case manager helps them navigate the resources available for achieving permanent security in a safe country.

Breaking boundaries: International LGBT solidarity

We know that LGBT liberation is an international issue that requires international solutions. From the start, Rainbow Street’s work has been an effort of international LGBT solidarity.

Grassroots supporters in the United States have funded the effort since before the organization’s founding in 2014. Volunteer organizers continue to raise funds in the United States and beyond from a growing group of supportive donors.

Rainbow Street’s engagement with the local community goes beyond fundraising. We work locally in the United States to promote an understanding of the current risks that LGBT people face in the Middle East and North Africa, promote workable short-term and long-term solutions, and to lift up the voices of local queer and trans people who hail from the MENA region. This is done by:

  • Addressing public audiences at speaking events and panel discussions

  • Being visibly present at celebratory gatherings of the LGBT community (like Pride marches)

  • Creating identity-affirming spaces for queer people from the MENA region to gather and build community in the United States