Recently OUTLine announced funding from the Auckland district health board in association with Affinity Services to fund a community project manger in the field of mental health and addictions.

This role is for 12 months and is specifically intended to ensure that the mainstream services being offered to people from the rainbow community are being delivered in the most appropriate way.

“We are exceptionally pleased to announce that Anna Birkenhead and Diana Rands have been appointed to work as a job share for this project,” says Vaughan Meneses, general manager of OUTLine. “Anna and Di have a wealth of experience and are also well known and respected within the community, we are really looking forward to the difference that they will make.

“It has been well recognised anecdotally that many from our community do not get the appropriate level of service to meet their specific needs,” says Vaughan. “Some of our people encounter blatant homophobia, while others get worn down by the heterosexist attitudes and assumptions made by clinicians and staff in their work. This can make people very wary of seeking treatment and pushes many back in the closet while in treatment and this never has good outcomes.

“We need to ensure that we have the same level of treatment and access to service as everybody else, and that means not assuming we are straight.”