A newly-formed recovery support group for members of the LGBTQ+ community is looking for a new home after being told just hours before its first meeting was to be held Wednesday that the group’s original venue — the basement of the Webster County Health Department — could no longer host them.

Rainbow to Recovery, a community group focused on supporting members of the LGBTQ+ community through their addiction recovery journeys, was launched earlier this week after weeks of organizing by its founders, Sarah SmallCarter, Cordin Herrick, Riley Walstrom and Marissa Nichols. Initially, the group had coordinated with the Webster County Health Department under a grant the department received to fund outreach and resources to the community, including the LGBTQ+ community.

The group was set to have its first meeting Wednesday at 7 p.m., but in the mid-afternoon, they were informed they could no longer meet at the WCHD, according to SmallCarter.

According to a release posted by the WCHD on Facebook, the department determined the grant cannot provide funding for the costs of the use of county facilities or for additional staffing during meetings. It went on to say that the WCHD “cannot hold support or recovery groups at county-owned facilities.”

According to Webster County Supervisor Mark Campbell, who is also on the County Board of Health, it is the county’s policy to decline outside groups’ requests to use county facilities.

“We’re approached all the time by different groups and organizations who want to utilize the county facilities,” Campbell said. “We’ve, for a couple of years, tried to find space for a public defender’s office. We can’t find space….We don’t have space available for people.”

Despite the setback, the founding members of the group planned to meet outside the WCHD building at 723 First Ave. S. to show support for the group and to let people know about the change if they hadn’t seen the message in the few hours before the meeting was scheduled.

“We’re committed to making this happen,” SmallCarter said. “There’s a need for safe spaces for the queer community that are not based in alcohol.This is about serving our community’s needs.”

About 15 people showed up — some seeking the recovery support advertised and some just there to show their support.

“Thanks for everyone that showed up,” Walstrom said.

With the turnout and the nice weather Wednesday evening, the group decided to move forward with their meeting — only instead of meeting in the WCHD basement, they sat out front on the sidewalk together.

Now, the group is looking at options for a new site for the bi-weekly support group meetings.

“I would love to see this grow even further,” Herrick said.