UnitedHealth Foundation and Rainbow Health Partners on A New Grant For Youth

Healthcare for the LGBTQ population — particularly mental health — can be quite a challenge for individuals and the community as a whole.

In fact, a new report from the CDC found that 70% of LGBQ youth (the report did not include data from the transgender population) experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness during the past year. Almost 25% attempted suicide.

These findings are particularly prevalent in BIPOC youth, with the highest rates among multicultural, Hispanic, American Indian, and Alaskan Native populations. It also found that Black adolescents are more likely than Asian, Hispanic, and white youth to attempt suicide.

While these findings sound grim, there are organizations committed to helping alleviate the crisis LGBTQ youth are facing.

The United Health Foundation (the philanthropic foundation of UnitedHealth Group) is partnering with Rainbow Health to try and improve mental health among LGBTQ and BIPOC youth.

This partnership will last three years and includes a $2 million grant to address disparities related to suicide, depression, and anxiety among young adults ages 14–25 in Minnesota. “The Foundation’s grant will allow Rainbow Health to expand the number of mental health therapists we have dedicated to caring for youth and young adults,” said “Being part of this announcement today made me feel immense pride and gratitude at the same time,” says Jeremy Hanson Willis, CEO of Rainbow Health, “as well as the social work staff to connect these folks to other supports at Rainbow Health and our partners like housing, health insurance, legal advocacy, and transportation. The grant will also allow us to provide our services for free as needed, so that no one is turned away due to financial barriers.”

This type of care is vital for the region. “We want people to grow up feeling protected, feeling loved, and having the ability to be the person they are,” says Mayor Jacob Frey, city of Minneapolis.

Rainbow Health, United Health, and LGBTQ Healthcare

Everyone needs good healthcare, but the LGBTQ population can face significant barriers such as affordable access, discrimination, and more.

In 2021, Rainbow Health conducted a Voices of Health Survey which found that 4 out of 5 LGBTQ respondents of all ages reported experiencing moderate to severe mental distress at the time of the survey. 23% also reported there was a time in the past year they needed to see a doctor but didn’t. They were afraid of being disrespected or mistreated as an LGBTQ person.

Rainbow Health is a non-profit that advocates for and serves the LGBTQ community, including folks living with HIV, and all people facing barriers to equitable healthcare.

The United Health Foundation actively works to improve the health care system, including building a diverse workforce and enhancing the well-being of communities.

This partnership between United Health Foundation and Rainbow Health together hope to build on the legacy of what they’ve each done separately before, making health care improvements relevant to today.

“Being part of this announcement today made me feel immense pride and gratitude at the same time,” said Willis.

Willis was a child of the AIDS movement. When he first came of age and came out, HIV and AIDS were prevalent. Health care systems of the time had to create new models to care for these individuals that didn’t exist for LGBTQ folks before.

Now, Rainbow Health and United Health hope to do the same thing; create new models and systems to care for the LGBTQ community.

This partnership will provide culturally responsive mental health care and substance use services to more than 250 new clients. It will connect them to support services including things like transitional housing, health insurance, and transportation assistance. It also aims to help address high rates of homelessness and other unmet social needs.

Mental Health Is in the Forefront

“The biggest barrier we face right now is that tour therapists are filled up,” says Willis. “There’s such a demand and such a need in mental health broadly but especially in this specialized care.”

Today, LGBTQ youth are not just responding to the pressure queer young people face simply for being queer, but they’re also responding to pressures society is putting on them. There’s a huge need right now and just too few providers, individuals, or organizations.

Part of the grant money will go toward hiring more therapists, helping to alleviate this demand. Hiring more therapists means they can address the waitlist of those waiting for care and get young people connected to help right away.

“This could not be happening at a more critical time, because as we speak today, we are at the center of a mental health crisis that is impacting our youth,” says Dr. Margaret-Mary Wilson, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, UnitedHealth Group.

LGBTQ youth are struggling with mental health at higher rates than their straight peers. The purpose of this partnership is to provide hope and a future for the next generation.

“If I had been told in my 20s, which was a couple of decades or more ago, that I would see a day when we would be having a conversation about what it must feel like to be a young LGBTQ+ adult living life and seeking care, I wouldn’t have believed that that was possible,” says Eli Wright, Clinic Director for Rainbow Health. “What this does for me today is gives me hope.”

The broad goal is to help LGBTQ youth feel included and exist in inclusive spaces every single day.

“We are that safe place that they’re desperate for. We are that hope that they’re looking for,” continues Wright. “That we can live our authentic selves in a real way and show that we’re going to show up for them.”