Annual Report 2014-2015

“Rainbow Heights Club showed me that I could maintain my

lifestyle if I just took an active part in my recovery.”

“We don’t end up in the hospital as much when we learn

things like that.”

-Rainbow Heights Club Member

Dear friends and supporters:

On behalf of the board, staff and consumers of Rainbow Heights

Club, thank you for your support of our agency and its mission to

bring innovative, affirming and effective behavioral health recovery

support and advocacy services to LGBT New Yorkers living with

serious mental illness.

On the pages to follow, you’ll meet a few of our clients/members

as well as our peer specialists, who together face the challenges of

mental health recovery every day.

Our programming addresses the gaps in services that are

experienced when low/no income LGBT individuals access care

through the public mental health system. We are quite proud to

share with you both our members’ experiences, and the

programming we offer to help support their recovery.

We hope that you will consider using the website Network for

Good to make a financial contribution to help support our work.

Sincerely,

Christian Huygen, Ph.D. Dr. Daniel Garza Executive Director Board Chair

Our Mission To provide services that improve the quality of life of

LGBT mental health consumers and their families,

in an atmosphere of hope, recovery and partnership.

“Rainbow Heights Club has been my second home,

especially when dealing with depression. Instead of

sitting in my apartment, I have a place to go and

occupy my mind with positivity.”

Starlett, member since 2014

Rainbow Heights Club programming continues to increase social

support and community, reduce isolation and improve outcomes.

91% of members remained free of psychiatric hospitalization.

85% report experiencing fewer psychiatric symptoms since joining.

80% of members felt that they would have been hospitalized more

often without the support of RHC.

86% of members have more LGBT people in their support system

than they did before joining RHC.

88% of members report better self esteem since joining RHC.

-Results of our June, 2015 Consumer Survey

Sometimes, having others to share your experiences and challenges

with makes them just a little bit easier to deal with.

For many of our consumers, loneliness and isolation are as damaging to their

recovery as their psychiatric symptoms. That’s why at Rainbow Heights Club we

provide an environment and scope of services that affirm and support LGBT

mental health consumers’ sexual and gender identities and their recovery path.

Over 25 weekly support groups help members realize they are not alone, while

the over 60 weekly one on one peer support sessions provide members with

personalized assistance with setting and achieving individual recovery plan goals.

Because of their decades of isolation, our members often lack the social skills and

confidence needed to sustain healthy social interactions - so staff and volunteers

gently provide structured activities and encourage participation.

The Communities We Serve

0 10 20 30 40 50

Other

Gender Nonconforming

Trans Male

Trans Female

Male

Female

2%

3%

2%

12%

40%

41%

Rainbow Heights Club

members represent the full

breadth and diversity of the

City of New York.

We are open 7 hours per

day, 5 days per week, and all

of our services are 100%

free to our clients.

We advocate for affirming

and respectful mental health

services regardless of sexual

orientation or gender

identity.

Operating from a facility in

Brooklyn, we serve over

650 clients from all five

boroughs, with 83% living

outside of Manhattan.

Racial Identity

Gender Identity

Sexual Orientation

Gay

Bisexual

Lesbian

Straight (Transgender)

Other

Queer

Two Spirit

40%

32%

19%

2%

2%

1%

4%

56%

17%

15%

8%

3%

0 10 20 30 40

Asian/Pacific Islander

Multiracial

Other

White (Not Latino/a)

Latino/a

Black/African American

4%

11%

19%

27%

37%

2%

Borough of Residence

“Dinner is a big deal here. It brings the members

together. If they go home and they’re gonna be

alone, this is a chance to really sit down and have

supper together, and they look forward to it...it’s nice

because we have members cooking for other

members.”

“They say that dinner time brings the family

together, so this is the Rainbow Heights family...Oh,

and you can never have too much garlic.” Matteo, Peer Specialist since 2013

In 2014, we served over 8,200 free meals to our members.

96% of members eat dinner at the club regularly.

87% reported that they have helped with dinner preparation.

Over 50% of members report eating healthier since joining RHC.

*Results of our June, 2015 Consumer Survey

A Free, Hot Meal Nourishes Both Physically and Mentally An important component of the programming at RHC is the evening meal service

where our members plan, shop for, prepare, serve and clean up after an early

evening meal served family style to those participating in the day’s programming.

Since the majority of our members live below the poverty line, this free meal

provides sustenance to our members while simultaneously serving as a strong

incentive to participate in support service activities beforehand.

The evening meal also helps develop socialization skills, with the meal often

serving as a way to develop friendships and form familial relationships. We teach

members how to budget and shop for their food on limited incomes through

their participation in all phases of the meal planning and preparation.

“As a member I benefited from being able to interact

with peer specialists. And, with those connections, I

was able to make a better recovery. I feel Rainbow

Heights Club is the community where I belong.

Having a peer specialist is encouraging for the

members because they share lived experiences. Peer

specialists are good role models because we help

members keep their mental health stable.”

Musa, member since 2002, Peer Specialist since 2010

When We Heal Together, We Heal Stronger

Our peer specialist program trains LGBT people living with mental illness to

help others along their road to recovery. Operating within a peer specialist

paradigm, mental health consumers who are in recovery receive specialized

training so they can share their recovery experiences with our members and

set powerful examples of recovery in practice.

Peer Specialists are the backbone of the program services at the club. They

lead support groups, assist members with building and maintaining their

individual recovery plans, help with dinners, lead excursions to museums, and

sometimes just sit and chat with members.

Together, eight peer specialists bring their diverse backgrounds to our staff, so

there is always someone who can bring their own recovery experiences and

insights to support and mentor our members.

“I can come here and actually be myself…at times,

like when I had a bad night, or something went

wrong...a peer specialist will pull me aside and say

‘We are a family, you can talk, to me’ so the sense

of a community is everything … here I have

somewhere to be, I have somewhere I can go and

have that community so I never want it to end.”

Byron, member since 2010

In 2014, we had over 8,600 client visits.*

We provided 3,214* one on one support sessions to members.

We conducted 720 support groups attended by 5,300+* members.

We sent over 400 outreach cards and made 150+ outreach calls.

We sent 8,000+ e-Newsletters and 4,000+ paper newsletters.

*Duplicated counts

Government Agencies

New York City Dept. of Health

& Mental Hygiene

New York State Office of Mental Health

New York State Dept. of Health

Foundations

The Milton and Tamar

Maltz Family Foundation

The H. van Ameringen Foundation

The Johnson Family Foundation

Brooklyn Community Foundation

The Stonewall Community Foundation

Jewish Communal Fund

Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS

The C.B. Ramsay Foundation

New York City Council

Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito

Council Member Brad Lander

Council Member Mark Levin

Council Member Andrew Cohen

$5,000 - $9,999

Pepper, James G.

$2,500-$4,999 Anderson, Randi

Garza, Daniel In memory of Taylor Harbison Herbits, Stephen E.

$1,000-$2,499 Campbell, Glenorchy & Gino Benza

Garrity, Kevin & Philip Matthews Huygen, Christian

Klein, Stanley & Eileen Lopez, Ricardo

$500-$999 Cassidy, Bill

Dunson, Daniel & Cheryl First Unitarian Congregation

Society, Brooklyn Haley, Wendy

Hooiveld, Jaap Huygen, Conrad & Julie

Ostertag, Robert Silver, Jody

Snee, Patrick

Mattison, Tim

McClain, Gary

McKinley, Paula

McMahon, Stephen

The Mullen Family

O’Brien, Jack &

Karla Perlman

O’Brien, John

Post, Stuart

Ritholz, Gerald

Rosen, Diana

Russell, Bill &

Bruce Bossard

Russo, Michael

Sand, Shara

Saperia, Phillip A. &

James R. Golden

Shulman, Susanne &

Carolyn Altman

Sorkin, Barry

Spritz, Melanie

Stark, Wendy

Sunderland, Robyn

Tong, Virginia

Vez, Ellen

Thank you for Supporting Rainbow Heights Club!

AMIDA Inc.

Anderson, Maureen

Avallone, Nicole

Cobb, Roy

Cortinas, Jorge Ignacio

Crutchley, Jonathan

Davidson, Carol

Ellison, David

English, James

Fink, Richard

Gonson, Claudia

Haley, Wendy

Hellman, Ronald

Hoffman, Judith

Hooiveld, Jacob

Hutner, Nathaniel

Huygen, Hans & Sylvia

Hvidsten, Lynne C.

Jackson, Christopher

Johnston, David

Kaufman, Anne

Kierstead, James A.

Klein, Josh

Lathrop, Brian

Leahy, Joseph

Lemieux, Steven

The Ruth H. Mallison Trust

Individual Donors $100-$499 Individual Donors

“Rainbow Heights Club is a fantastic place

for LGBT mental health consumers to fulfill

their dreams... The club provides an

atmosphere of love and acceptance, and as

a donor and a member I feel compelled to

give because I can see day by day

improvement, and know that would not be

possible without

Rainbow Heights Club.”

Julie Cipolla, RHC Member & Donor

Grady, John Henry

Gralnick, Lori

Grossman, Marc

Haggerty, Tim

Hassman, Howard

Hendon Enterprises Inc.

Hicks, Olivia

Hoffman, Eric

Hoffman, Rebecca

Hoke, Darren

Hollie, Edward &

Michael Sharon

Hutner, Nathaniel

Ing, Mark

Kaufman, Anne

Kendler, Helene

Kennedy, Brian

Kennedy, Douglas & Lynne

Killings, Randy

Klein, Heather Klein, Josh & Jenn

Kozlik, James

Kruft, Joe

Labrado, Lisa

Laino, Joseph

Lamza, Josephine

Iappini, Paul

Levine, Amy

Levine, William

Long, Nina

Longmire, David

Lorber, Kim

Ludwig, Karen

Mahr, Lou

Manogue, Laurence

Mansfield, Christina

Mason, Barbara

Mayerson, Sean

McLachlan, Erin

Mentenfel, Bassing

Mermelstein, Hindi

Minor, Allen

Minton, Frank

Neglia, Noelle

Oppenheim, Robert

Palmgreen, Susan

Peters, Freda

Petrillo, Justin

Proskurov, Bella

Puibello, August

Puibello, F.M.

Puibello, Stephen

Qumby, Dorothy

Radman, Tommy

Read, John

Rivera, Sunny

Romano, Rosemarie

Romero, Sergio

Roseboom, Destiny

Rosen, Ira

Siece, Annette Silverman, Jennifer

Spicer, E & C

Steffann, Margaret

Stromar, Michael

Szabo, Laszlo

Tarr, Harold

Taylor, Robert

Tong, Virginia

Tuthill, John & Lorelei

Vickroy, Ernest

Village Chiropractic Associates

Warren, Barbara

Watanabe, Musa

Wiedembaum, Marlene

Williams, Holly

Wunsch, Emma

Yoo, Kacy

Youngstrom, Amelia

Zapata, David

Individual Donors $1-$99

Thank you for Supporting Rainbow Heights Club!

Agatstein, Barbara

Altamirano, Denis

Alwan, Yasmin

Ashley, Kenneth

Banat, Steven &

Leny Rada-Benat

Barba, Antonia

Bennett, John

Billey, Amber

Blumenthal, Evan

Bosco, Denise &

Don Eyles

Bradshaw, Nanci

Braun, Enid A. &

Christopher A Morse

Brito, Daniel

Brown, Scherrie

Burns, Michael

Cerabone, Raymond

Chan, Christopher Chang, Judy

Cipolla, Julie

Cobb, Ernest

Cobb, Patricia A

Cohn, Frances

Cox, Helene

Davis, Mark

Drabinski, Emily

Dwyer, Sean

Falco, Joseph & Kathleen

Ferrera, Ray

Fine, Rachel

Fitzpatrick, Violet

Fleeman, Rebecca

Freedman-Schnapp, Michael

Gagne, Lianne

Gains, Gwendolyn

Gershowitz, Hynan

Ginsberg, Stephen

Goldberg & Cohn LLP

Goldstein, Zil

“I first came to Rainbow Heights Club on October

31st, 2008. I came dressed as a female because I hadn’t

transitioned yet. I came to the Club dressed and I

adopted the name Cindy that day. And I’ve kept it...I

like the Club because the support groups are nice. I

regularly attend the Trans/Gender Explorers support

group and I go to some of the others occasionally, like

Thoughts and Feelings or Too Much Group.”

Cindy, member since 2008

Inclusivity Statement

As a community, we strive to love each other and to respect the law, which states that

transgender people should not be excluded or discriminated against. We want Rainbow

Heights Club to be a community where everyone is included, comfortable, welcomed

and safe. Transgender people are welcome in all groups at Rainbow Heights Club.

—Rainbow Heights Club, Consumer Advisory Board, December 9, 2011

“Carfare is a great incentive for those of us

struggling financially because, without this, it would

be hard to get here.” Giselle, member since 2013

No agency’s programs can be effective if their clients can’t

access them. Without carfare assistance, most of our

members would be unable to get to our facility in Brooklyn.

On intake, we make sure that new members are enrolled in the MTA’s half-

fare program for the disabled if they are eligible, then provide a daily stipend

for travel to and from the Club.

88% of members receive public assistance

97% rely on Medicaid, Medicaid Managed Care, or Medicare

65% live below the poverty line of $11,770 yearly for a single person -Results of our June, 2015 Consumer Survey

“Rainbow Heights Club has helped me with many

things. It is a place where I can settle in, be safe, feel

calm and develop friendships with other transgender

people... I think there is a lot of stigma in other

organizations’ programs and agencies serving

transgender people living with mental illness…These

organizations need to have training on transgender

people living with mental illness, HIV, and substance

abuse problems.” Joey a.k.a. Josephine,

member since 2013

As part of our mission to bring respectful

affirming care to LGBT individuals living with

serious mental illness, we have developed several

capacity building curricula which equip non-LGBT

providers of behavioral health services with the

skills necessary to work more effectively with

their LGBT behavioral health consumers.

Over the past seven years our E/Quality care

program has developed, evaluated and presented

a series of trainings to over 2,500 behavioral

health professionals from dozens of clinics,

hospitals, shelters, government agencies and

community based programs.

These 90 minute interactive trainings are

designed for social workers, psychiatrists,

psychologists, case managers, CASACs, mental

health counselors, peer specialists, and other

health and human services professionals who

provide services to LGBT consumers.

Most recently, we were contracted by the NYC

Dept of Health and Mental Hygiene to deliver a

series of transgender specific trainings to

DOHMH funded behavioral health providers in

New York City.

LGBT Capacity Building Trainings

2,500+ behavioral health professionals from clinics, hospitals,

shelters, government agencies, community based programs trained

A donation to Rainbow Heights Club is a cost effective investment

in the lives of LGBT New Yorkers living with serious mental illness.

Operating as a drop-in center, with an average cost per program visit of

$35.50 per person, our members can attend social support groups, receive 1

on 1 support, participate in outside activities, obtain carfare assistance, and

enjoy a nutritious hot meal, all free of charge.

Considering that a year of in-patient psychiatric hospitalization costs Medicaid

over $300,000, and our services reduce psychiatric hospitalizations

significantly, our programming saves the taxpayers of New York hundreds of

thousands, if not millions, of dollars yearly.

Our programs have demonstrated that they assist members in remaining in

out-patient care, adherent to their medication regimes and, most

importantly, members stay active, engaged participants in their recovery and

in their community.

Audited Expenses

2013 2014

Program Services

$471, 962 $486,649

Administration $108,594 $113,406

Fundraising $54,287 $47,488

Capital Improvements

$5,299 $63,075

Total $640,142 $710,618

2013 2014

Government $407,893 $379,575

Foundations $220,158 $229,639

Individuals $14,593 $28,675

Capital Support $17,814 $63,075

Donated Facilities $14,112 $14,112

Other Income $1,111 $4,488

Total $675,681 $719,564

Audited Income

Financial Operations 2013/2014

Thanks to YOU! We’ve increased Individual Donor Income by Over 400% Since 2011

In 2010, government funding for social services was cut significantly across the

board in NY State due to the impact of the 2008 recession. In response, we

turned to our friends and colleagues to help bridge the gap and you responded in a

BIG way. In 2014 we set the record for individual donations in a single year.

Can you help us break the

record again this year by

making a donation or

upgrading your donor

level?

You can make a single

donation today, or spread

your donation out into

monthly payments.

Just go to our website and

click on the “Donate

Now” button.

$-

$10,000.00

$20,000.00

$30,000.00

$40,000.00

2011 2012 2013 2014

Functional Categorization of Operating Expenses, 2013/2014

74% Program Services

2013

9% Fundraising

2014

75% Program Services

18% Administration

7% Fundraising

17% Administration

“The care and patience of the Rainbow Heights Club staff

and peer specialists showed me different ways to be a

person...and knowing that makes life so much easier. I can

go home and implement that with my family and that makes

life less stressful.”

-Rainbow Heights Club Member

PROVIDING FREE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH RECOVERY SUPPORT

AND ADVOCACY FOR LGBT NEW YORKERS LIVING WITH

SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS SINCE 2002

www.rainbowheights.org www.equalitycare.org

Board of Directors

Dr. Daniel Garza, Chair

Eileen Klein, Ph.D. Treasurer

Suzy Ritholz, Ph.D. Member

Natasha Stovall, Ph.D. Member

Mike Woram, Member

Senior Staff

Christian Huygen, Ph.D...Executive Director

Rebecca Hoffman, LMSW...Director of Member Services

Kevin Garrity...Director of Development & External Affairs

Randy Killings, CASAC...Member Services Coordinator