Britain has had a long and well established gay scene and Brighton has played a large part in the history of British Gay Culture and is now one of the main cities in Gay Britain with one of the largest gay populations.

Brighton's LGBT Switchboard has been providing a service to the lesbian and gay communities since April 26th 1975, originally called 'The Brighton Lavender Line' so as to prevent callers having to announce their sexuality. Today Brighton's lesbian and gay community is estimated to be around 35, 000 (13% of the total population) and the town is one of the most gay friendly in Britain. Switchboard offers unique service operated from the heart of the community by a range of ordinary lesbian, gay men, bisexual and trans with the skills to listen. We are open every night from 5pm (British time) and receive over 5000 calls per year and our website handles 70,000 visitors per year, lending a friendly ear and keeping people in touch, whatever the need.

Switchboard offers an English only speaking help line service that covers a varied range of subjects, Whether it's for going out, coming out or checking something out, speaking to an operator who is lesbian or gay makes an important difference to our callers. The scope of information that Switchboard operators have to offer can range from gay hotels in the area, the date of Brighton Pride, to coming to terms with sexuality or HIV status. Often people want inside information about the Brighton lesbian and gay scene, or don't know where else to go to find what they are looking for: finding lesbian/gay friendly accommodation, for example. Or it might be that you just want to talk to someone and don't know where to turn. That's what we are here for. Switchboard also offers four main services. A helpline, an email service that people can email questions on, please click here. We also offer a room finder service for people who are looking for a room to rent or looking for a tenant. We provide a safe, reliable way of linking people offering or seeking Lesbian/Gay, HIV friendly long term (i.e. 3 months or more) accommodation in the Brighton and Hove area. All you need to do is give switchboard a call and they will pass on details to you.

We also offer a face to face counselling service with professional, who are all lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and trans, for individuals and couples with the aims of specifically meeting the needs of gay and lesbian people.

You can call switchboard from 5pm every night and everyday and all calls to Switchboard remain confidential