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Rainbows is a dedicated free service for children and young people

The Rainbows programme supports children and young people affected by loss because of bereavement, separation or divorce. The service is available in local communities throughout Ireland. The service is grant aided by Tusla.

Mission Statement

The Vision of Rainbows Our vision is that the grief experienced by children and young people in Ireland, following a significant loss in their lives from bereavement or loss through parental separation and divorce, is recognised and that they are offered the understanding and support necessary to foster emotional well-being.

The Mission of Rainbows  Rainbows Ireland works to enable children and young people who have experienced a significant loss to access peer support.  This support happens within their local communities as they seek to come to terms with their grief and loss.

The Aim of Rainbows We aim to fulfil our mission by establishing, maintaining and supporting a national network of accredited Programme Centres, where trained facilitators are recruited by each Programme Centre Management Body to guide participants through the various Rainbows peer support group based programmes.

Equality Statement The service respects and values the diversity of all children and families. The Rainbows service is committed to maintaining a service that does not discriminate, directly or indirectly on the grounds of gender, gender identity, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religious belief, political opinion, disability, age, race or ethnic origin. The service recognises that all children and young people, regardless of their circumstances, have a right to have their grief and loss recognised and to be given opportunities to express their feelings and emotions.

Rainbows is a national children’s voluntary service with an average of 6,000 children and young people coming into the service every year throughout Ireland. Rainbows supports children and young people in groups. There are groups for children and young people who have been affected by the death of a close family member and there are groups for children and young people whose family has changed because their parents have separated or divorced.

In 1983, Rainbows was formally established in Chicago, USA by Suzy Yehl Marta (died 2013) following a personal divorce. She could not locate any services to support her children at that time. Thus, the Rainbows programme and service was founded to provide support for children and young people, experiencing a significant loss through death and separation or divorce. The programme and service has grown and developed across the USA, into 28 countries and at present is growing and developing in Africa, Japan.

Rainbows is well present in The UK, Canada and Australia. In 1988, Rainbows Ireland was formally established as an organisation by the Presentation Sisters. Sr Elizabeth Maxwell and Sr Cecilia Molloy trained in the USA to deliver the Rainbows programme. On returning to Ireland, thirty six volunteers were trained to recruit and train volunteers across the country. Since then Rainbows has been grown and developed in over six hundred locations throughout Ireland.  These locations are predominantly in school settings, family resource centres, parish centres, youth projects and other social agencies.

The Rainbows service is open to all children and families of all religious beliefs and none. The National Office was established in 1997 in The Loreto Centre, Crumlin Road, Dublin 12, to handle the overall administration of Rainbows in Ireland.

Rainbows is a national children’s voluntary service with an average of 6,000 children and young people coming into the service every year throughout Ireland. Rainbows supports children and young people in groups. There are groups for children and young people who have been affected by the death of a close family member and there are groups for children and young people whose family has changed because their parents have separated or divorced.