Gay Swchboard Ireland - Nonprof Organizatn at Dubl

Contents:

• GAY SWCHBOARD RELNCH AS THE SWCHBOARD WH EVEN MORE SUPPORTS FOR THE LGBTQ+ MUNY
• CELEBRATG 40 YEARS OF GAY SWCHBOARD IRELAND
• GAY SWCHBOARD IRELAND
• GAY SWCHBOARD

GAY SWCHBOARD RELNCH AS THE SWCHBOARD WH EVEN MORE SUPPORTS FOR THE LGBTQ+ MUNY

It was ially nceived as a telephone listeng and rmatn service for LGBTQ people by a group of gay rights activists, cludg Senator David Norris. ” The service officially began 1974 at 48 Parnell Square Dubl, home of the gay rights movement at the time as 1979 Tel-A-Friend had moved to the Hirschfield Centre Temple Bar and would rema there for the next .

One of the dited volunteers at the time remarks “…The Samarans reported that of the 180 lls received om homosexuals 1978, 20% were suicidal…” (Patrick McDonagh) people were more likely to ll The Samarans the early years and was que a stggle for the service to fd s’ dience. 1986 - 1987 was Tel-A-Friend’s bit time wh over 4, 500 lls beg received wh a 12-month perd, but on November 5th 1987 a fire which stroyed The Hirschfield centre left Tel-A-Friend whout a 1989 Tel-A-Friend renamed self Gay Swchboard service ntued over the followg years wh many volunteers g and gog. After spendg a long time hoed Carmicheal Hoe Dubl, 2011 Gay Swchboard Dubl to Outhoe on Capel Street, the recently opened LGBTQ+ rource 2014 the service had 51 volunteers and took 2, 900 lls.

CELEBRATG 40 YEARS OF GAY SWCHBOARD IRELAND

It was also the 40th anniversary of the service and the service changed s name to Gay Swchboard Ireland to reflect the fact that had long been takg lls om all parts of the untry. The Print thanked the volunteers who attend for the huge amount of work they had done the muny over the 2021, after a particularly rough year for many charable anisatns 2020, Gay Swchboard Ireland aga rebrand self as The Swchboard - LGBTQIA Support & Rourc, as creased s outreach to areas of the muny sometim overlooked by offerg new dited support l.

Many people are still rryg enormo shame about their sexualy and have layers of ternalised homophobia still needg to be acknowledged and healed. Wednday: Men’s Night: Gay || Bi || Married || MSM || Sexual Health || Asexualy || Kk.

GAY SWCHBOARD IRELAND

© 2017 GCN (Gay Communy News).

Many people are still rryg enormo shame about their sexualy and have layers of ternalised homophobia that serv to be acknowledged and healed.

GAY SWCHBOARD

Formerly known as Tel-A-Friend, then Gay Swchboard, The Swchboard has operated sce 1974 providg listeng support and signpostg for members of the lbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, tersex, asexual and other members of the LGBTQIA+ muny.

The sential support service for the muny, Gay Swchboard, has relnched as The Swchboard, and still provis a listeng ear to those need.

Declan add, “When I was about 14, growg up a small town the wt of Ireland, om feelg isolated and thkg I was the only gay the village, I lled the then Gay Galway helple, was so helpful to me, I wanted to give somethg thg back and 25 years later I joed Swchboard. Ruairí spoke about another of the groups – “We n a peer support group for men who are or who were a long term relatnship wh a woman, but who are now feelg gay/bi or experiencg sexual attractns to other men. John has ma lifelong iends amongst the volunteers, as he scrib, “I joed the Gay Swchboard six years ago as a volunteer – I wanted to give back to the LGBTQIA muny the support I received when I first rang the service all those years ago.

© 2021 GCN (Gay Communy News).

Gay Swchboard Ireland turns 40 this year. Gay Swchboard Ireland, which offers nfintial peer support for the LGBT muny, celebrated 40 years of their service this year.

Sce first answerg the phon that year, Gay Swchboard Ireland has ntued to grow, diversify and reach out throughout 40 years of social change. In the last year they answered 2, 761 lls, which emphasiz that no matter how tim have changed terms of LGBT visibily and accs to rmatn, the Gay Swchboard is still an important touchstone of support.