Cherry Orchard Joins Rainbow Award
Cherry Orchard Youth Service is proud to be taking part in the Rainbow Award!
We believe that every young person deserves to feel safe, supported, and celebrated for who they are. That’s why we’ve committed to the 18-month Rainbow Award accreditation programme — a national initiative that helps youth services become fully inclusive of LGBTQ+ young people, staff, and volunteers.
We know this work is needed now more than ever. The Being LGBTQI+ in Ireland report (2024) showed that LGBTQI+ youth are still facing huge challenges — including bullying, isolation, discrimination, and poor mental health. These are not just statistics; they reflect the real experiences of young people in our communities.
At Cherry Orchard Youth Service, we are very excited to be working towards the Rainbow Award in making inclusive and safe spaces for young people. We’re continuously working towards providing a more inclusive and safe environment for all of the young people from Cherry Orchard.
With the support of Belong To, we’ll be working through six key stages that help us embed LGBTQ+ inclusion across our whole service. This includes:
- Staff training
- Access to resources and guides
- Regular check-ins and network meetings
Each of these steps will help us build a youth service where LGBTQ+ young people feel truly welcomed, represented, and celebrated — not just during Pride, but every day of the year.
