Rainbow Cafe LGBTQ Center: A Safe Space in Southern Illinois by Collections by Michelle Brown published on 2023-12-14T23:56:35Z Carrie Sinclair Vine is the Executive Director of the Rainbow Cafe LGBTQ Center in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 2000 the Center's mission is to “provide a safe and welcoming environment for youth who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, or questioning their orientation, and their friends, by creating a space in which they are affirmed and offered non-judgmental support and access to personal, community, and spiritual resources.” It offers programs and services for members of the LGBTQIA+ community and allies from throughout southern Illinois, including some who traveled an hour each way to attend. They recently moved in to a larger space allowing the Rainbow Cafe to provide assistance to individuals of all ages . Carrie Sinclair Vine is not just the Executive Director, she is co-Founder/ Board Member at GRIS- Golden Rainbows of Illinois South. She is deeply passionate not just about the Rainbow Cafe but the well-being of Carbondale as a safe haven for all.