Black, Latine, Indigenous, Asian, and Pacific Islander Americans experience increased marginalization - which leads to additional mental health issues. Being at the intersections of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity can be exhausting. Rainbow Cafe is committed to all of its spaces being safe, affirming, and welcoming to queer people of color.

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If you or someone you know is considering suicide or self-harm, please go to our hotlines section and speak with a professional.
Relevant hotlines include:

• Call BlackLine at callblackline.org or 800-604-5841
• THRIVE at thrivelifeline.org or 313-662-8209
  
• StrongHearts at strongheartshelpline.org or 844-762-8483
  

Don't Call the Police

Visit this online directory of resources, organizations, and alternatives to calling the police or 911. As advocates work on a larger scale to change the system, every individual can potentially make a difference by utilizing community-based crisis response providers instead of law enforcement.

Click Here

How can I take care of myself?

Discover what helps you feel cared for, relaxes you, helps you cope, and centers you. While these may not work for everyone, here's some suggestions:

• Allow yourself to feel without judgement. It's difficult to not be judgmental towards yourself, but give yourself the time, energy, and space to feel.
• Work to decrease your emotional intensity. Not everyone has the space or time to feel their emotions 24/7, so another step could be decreasing your current workload and intensity so you can simply make it through the day. Then, when you have the time and energy, you can feel all the things.
• Pivot to action. Feeling powerless or out of control leads to negative emotions - so engage in ways that are accessible to you. Participate in a rally, donate to an organization, volunteer your time, lor lend an ear. It'll do you as much good as those you're helping.
• Reach out. Don't be afraid to seek support from both your loved ones and professionals.

How can I support my Black and Brown friends?

Being an ally means actively improving yourself every day. There's plenty of ways to support people of color like...

• Checking in with them. Ask your friends what their support system currently looks like and explore whether they have access to therapy, professional support, or online resources.
• Using your platform. Use your power to speak out against racism and racial violence.
• Centering Black and Brown voices. Black lives matter, and amplifying their voices is an authentic and powerful way to share their unique voices with the world.
• Educating yourself. Learn about current events directly from reliable sources and educate yourself about racism.
• Learning the difference between sympathy and empathy. Empathy brings people together and connects them over difficult emotions. Sympathy recognizes the hardship in others' experiences, but often drives disconnect.

Check out these additional resources.

BIPOC Mental Health Coalition
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