These knitters are keeping thousands of LGBTQ homeless youths cozy this winter
Knit the Rainbow has handmade and delivered more than 25,000 winter garments to LGBTQ homeless youths through local nonprofits.
Like many who took up new hobbies during the pandemic, Austin Rivers found comfort in knitting. But his craft took on a larger meaning when he realized his scarves and hats could also support his New York City queer community.
He was particularly eager to help homeless LGBTQ youths, who comprise up to 40% of the country’s homeless youth population.
Knit the Rainbow founder Austin Rivers, second from right, with two volunteers and NBCU Academy reporter Jay Valle, second from left.Jay Valle / NBCU Academy“I don’t have the capacity to build a shelter, the network or the connections to help in that way, but what I can do is knit,” Rivers said. “And I know that New York City is cold, so I decided I would start knitting and create this nonprofit.”
Today, Knit the Rainbow, which was founded in April 2020, is powered by the help of 550 knitters nationwide who donate their handmade garments to Rivers and his team. To date, the organization has distributed over 25,000 garments to LGBTQ youths through local nonprofits in New York, New Jersey, Chicago and Detroit.
On “Days of Action,” volunteers sit in Rivers’ apartment, unboxing hundreds of garments sent by knitters across the country. The items are then placed in boxes and marked for their destination during the group’s distribution days.
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