"Very often I am the first person they ever tell that they are gay and they are their fifti. Now what has that done to their mental health for the past 50 years? Bee they have known om when they were their early teens."
Contents:
- THE SECRET LIV OF GAY FARMERS
- THE PRIT GIVG AN OUTLET TO GAY FARMERS NORTHERN IRELAND WHO FEEL UNABLE TO E OUT
- THIS RAL MATCHMAKG SERVICE HELPS GAY FARMERS FD LOVE
- GAY FARMERS OPEN UP ABOUT HOMOPHOBIC STIGMA THAT LEAV MANY NSIRG SUICI
- GAY FARMER HELPLINE
THE SECRET LIV OF GAY FARMERS
In the Uned Kgdom, there is only one hotle for gay farmers.
Growg up gay a muny that prized tradnal masculy, Inon felt isolated.
Landle, a short documentary om Matt Houghton, featur the voic of gay farmers who have lled to Inon’s hotle. In the film’s rerd telephone nversatns, gay Brish farmers share their ndid and often shockg experienc.
THE PRIT GIVG AN OUTLET TO GAY FARMERS NORTHERN IRELAND WHO FEEL UNABLE TO E OUT
There was no such thg as a gay farmer.
THIS RAL MATCHMAKG SERVICE HELPS GAY FARMERS FD LOVE
Dpe his helple havg been operatn for over six years, Canon Keh Inon says he still receiv a new se every week of a gay farmer or farm worker seekg help wh their silence over their sexualy.
GAY FARMERS OPEN UP ABOUT HOMOPHOBIC STIGMA THAT LEAV MANY NSIRG SUICI
The prit timat there are around 800 gay farmers Northern Ireland and is worried that a large number of them are experiencg mental health issu bee they have never openly spoken about their sexualy.
Canon Inon says the helple giv men the farmg world someone to talk to, and that “very often I am the first person they ever tell that they are gay and they are their fifti”.
‘You don’t hear about gay farmers’A lifelong Christian, Canon Inon me to fah via the Salvatn Army. He me out as a gay man around ne years Inon started the agricultural chaplacy team his native Chhire around 16 years ago.
GAY FARMER HELPLINE
It began on a voluntary part time basis and has grown to prise 16 chaplas workg throughout the unty, a fundraisg group and a support group for farmers – around 40 people the team n by ‘Church Together Chhire’ verg all explaed how the helple began: “About six or seven years ago I worked wh a uple of gay farmers and sudnly h me that you don’t hear about gay farmers – they don’t exist. ‘I thought was gog to take months to get gog – but didn’t’“So I did some homework and I went to the Office of Natnal Statistics basilly to fd out how many gay farmers there were likely to be Chhire alone.