Derry's anti-homophobia group to close

derry | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Friday May 06, 2005 12:23 by Paul McAndrew paul at queer dot ie

A campaigning group that has been instrumental in attempts to rid the North of homophobia could be set to close, after organisers admitted funding was beginning to run dry.

The Rainbow Project, which has campaigned to increase awareness of attacks on the Derry gay community, could be forced to shut down due to a lack of cash.

"The Rainbow Project finds itself in a serious funding crisis for our North West centre. The centre is the only service available outside of Belfast and has worked to end the isolation and discrimination suffered by thousands."

Organisers said they were now existing solely on private donations, and would be unable to continue for much longer.

The moves comes despite yesterday's news that the group helped organise one of the city's first meetings with local election candidates and the lesbian and gay community.

Heralding the hustings as a "positive step forward", organiser David McCartney said he hoped cooperation between other groups and the Project would help protect more lesbian and gay people from attack.

The city has been at the centre of attention throughout the past 12 months, with reports suggesting an increase of anti-gay attacks, both in frequency and ferocity.

"We have been in contact with a number of funding bodies and we are getting comments that are not giving us a great deal of hope," McCartney told the local press, adding that the situation was now at crisis point.

"We are now less than a month away from closure."

Supporters and local politicians are now calling for more help for the group, and the region's lesbian and gay community.