MEMBERS of a social enterprise aim to raise awareness about hate crime.

Sarah Way and Sue Oliver, founders of Rainbow Biz, said last week marked Hate Crime Awareness week (OCTOBER 15-21) and it was important to get the message across to people that hate crime is not acceptable.

Sue, director of Rainbow Biz, told the Leader: "It still needs to be highlighted without a doubt. Both personally and professionally, I still see things that really shouldn't still be going on. It breaks my heart.

"We have come so far as a society with moving forward but there's still a lot of work that needs to be done.

"It would be lovely if one day we didn't have to raise awareness but until then we will keep doing what we can."

The social enterprise aims to promote equality and diversity throughout the year and supports hate crime awareness

The pair own a Hippy Shop in Mold and they say anyone is invited to go in and have a chat, and they offer advice for those in need and refer them to where they need to go.

Sue added: "We always have information and literature in our shop available for people who need it. People often come in and open up to us about what has happened to them.

"It's awful what has happened to some people and we refer them to the police.

"All of our members can be seen as vulnerable and we like to welcome these people with open arms and encourage them to feel empowered."

Rainbow Biz has a variety of different projects and sessions which aims to help vulnerable adults and raise awareness about hate crime, one of them being the friendship group.

The group meets on a regular basis and often make their own gifts and jewellery that is sold in the local shop.

The director said: "The friendship group has grown and blossoms and I feel it's things like this that helps combat hate crime.

"If anyone wants to come and have a chat with us we can help you. We have direct links with North Wales Police and other organisations and things can be dealt with anonymously and confidentially."

The Hippy Shop is based at the Daniel Owen precinct in Mold.