J-FLAG seeks public support to rebuild 'Rainbow House'

The Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays, (J-FLAG) is seeking public support to rebuild its offices called 'Rainbow House', which was destroyed by fire, in the soonest possible time.

The building, which was located on Stanton Terrace, was destroyed by fire of unknown origin on December 30, and J-FLAG, through popular fundraising website GoFundMe, is seeking to raise US$60,000.

Up to press time, $1,555 was raised from 21 contributors.

Jaevion Nelson, executive director of J-FLAG told THE STAR why the lobby group went the route of seeking public assistance.

going well

Nelson said, "GoFundMe is just one of the things that we will be doing. Supporters locally and internationally have reached out to offer support and we've decided to use GoFundMe."

He added: "I think it's going well so far. Our partners here and abroad will distribute the link so we should see more contributions as the week progresses."

Since the fire, Nelson said their operations have been seriously hampered.

He told our news team, "Currently we don't have an office to operate from which is an impediment to the operations. Partners have offered space (for us) to come in and work from as well as to do printing and so on. It's a real setback; we used to host small events (social gatherings) and information sessions for individuals. That can no longer be done."

According to J-FLAG, the initial damage is estimated between US$50,000 and $60,000.

J-FLAG says in order to achieve some level of normalcy, it would need to quickly recover what was lost, including but not limited to, computers, projectors, binding machine, multi-function and laser printers, and external hard drives.

The lobby group has also expressed gratitude to the government and civil society partners who have opened their doors to it.