Every time the phone rings, you wonder who is going to be on the other end. You wonder about the voice you’ll hear, where they’re calling from, the reason they dialled the number. Every time it’s different, but every time you’re ready to do the most important thing you can do in that moment. You’re ready to listen, and to give them the space to be heard, sometimes for the first time in their lives.
That’s the role of an LGBT Helpline volunteer, and it has been for ten years now, to listen to the wide range of experiences the members of our community across Ireland have had, and to provide them with a compassionate response in a moment that can be so vulnerable.
The phone lines have existed for decades. Even back when it was illegal to be gay, there were people there to help, to lean on their own experience to guide others on their journey. But the problem was that these important services were scattered around the country, often operating one evening a week, and not giving the accessibility to those who really needed them. That’s why in 2010 all these groups came together to form the national LGBT Helpline.
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