Stories from the Edge - Volunteer Now

There is little doubt that the world is becoming a more tolerant place for gay people. David notices that there is hardly atelevision soap that does not have its gay man, but he insists there is no time for complacency. Throughout the worldreligious and moralistic views can still dictate social policy. Many middle-aged gay men will tell of the midnight dreamterror of going to the lowest level of hell because of their 'perversion'. The South of Ireland is one place where the dyinghegemony of the Catholic Church may still have a sting in its tail and "there are many battles still to be fought for gaymen to rid themselves of the second class status", according to Dave.For example Northern Ireland still has 17 as the age of sexual consent whereas in the rest of the United Kingdom it is 16.The recent introduction of human rights legislation is another bonus in the gay campaign for equality. Such legislationmakes it illegal for Government to discriminate against a person on the grounds of his or her sexual orientation.David McCartney's volunteer work on behalf of the gay population gives him deep satisfaction, he said. He is a Director ofRainbow Project, which is run and manned by volunteers. The position is not by appointment but by election. In the bestdemocratic tradition David has to go to the husking with his policies for advancing the cause of gay men's health. Eachyear he is held accountable. "None of your parliamentaryshenanigans and double talk here.”He comes from a family business background which allowshim the time and leisure to also volunteer as RainbowChairman. His job is to see that staff are managed properlyand that everyone does what they agree to do. He isresponsible for budgets and for planning. It gives him asense of self worth and of satisfaction.David also believes his volunteer work has a social side anda structure. Through volunteer work an individual can“there is no art todefine the mind inthe face”develop. He gives an example of one former Rainbow volunteer worker who is now with the United Nations, but moreimportantly the relationship between the individual and the group is symbiotic. He believes empowering others to copewith their lives also empowers David. It is from this empowering that David believes he can do better things.One of the main ingredients in any volunteer work is of course money to run the project's Church Lane premises. There issome cash on hand from the state. Councils such as Derry City Council and Limavady Borough Council has always beenenlightened and donated a few bob. David’s face lights up when he announces that Rainbow Project is shortly to open acentre in his home city of Derry. For David McCartney this is a big story.