How we work

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Core Program: Emergency Travel Support

Providing emergency travel to LGBTQI+ people facing imminent danger is our core method of work. This involves 3 key steps:

1. Verification: We verify each case, learn about the circumstances of the individual facing persecution and begin determining how we can help.

2. Research & Support: We research possible routes to safety and connect with local contacts who provide logistical support. This includes providing support to the individual in-country (e.g safehouses).

3. Travel: We provide travel to a safer country where the person’s basic rights and freedoms are upheld.

Upon arrival, we provide limited, short-term support to help people settle in.

In addition to emergency travel, Rainbow Railroad provides safety to LGBTQI+ people around the world in five additional ways:

Program 1: Cash Assistance

Support includes cash to fund accommodation, medical care, access to essential medicines and self-relocation to another region of the country.

Program 2: Partnership Development

Direct capacity building and livelihood support to human rights defenders, organizations and collectives in countries where people are displaced. We support over 30 global partners.

Program 3: Crisis Response

Monitoring and responding to mass detentions and/or arrests of LGBTQI+ persons, as well as geopolitical crises that impact LGBTQI+ persons.

Program 4: Information Services and Referrals

Providing essential non-monetary resources and counsel to LGBTQI+ people facing violence and persecution, including mental health supports.

Program 5: Government Resettlement Pathways

Arranging for the private sponsorship of refugees globally, as well as pursuing other complementary pathways to safety.