We’re pleased to update that we are now operating our helpline service again. Due to our office closure and staff working from home we have a new helpline number which you can reach us on should you need support and a listening ear: 01273 359042. This is a temporary number which we will be using… Continue Reading COVID-19 Helpline Update
Dear Switchboard Service Users, In the interests of protecting you and our staff and volunteers, Switchboard is following the Government advice and cancelling all group meetings and events and supporting our staff to work from home. We do not want to leave anyone isolated and without support so we are working to find ways we can… Continue Reading Suspending Face-to-Face Services
We’re looking for Listening Volunteers to help answer calls, emails and webchats from other members of the LGBTQ+ community. Are you: LGBTQ+? Able to get to central Brighton for training and shifts? Passionate about supporting the LGBTQ+ community? A great listener looking to develop your skills? If that sounds like you, then you’re exactly who… Continue Reading Switchboard needs Listening Volunteers! Can you answer the call?
Submit work to the Trans Survivors Zine online or join our free zine-making workshop on Saturday 16th November! Exciting things are happening with the Trans Survivors Project. The LGBT Consortium has funded us to create spaces for trans and non-binary people, focusing on supporting those who have experienced violence and abuse. These events will be… Continue Reading Trans Survivors Zine – Call for Submissions!
Join us to celebrate the hard work of the Switchboard staff and volunteers over the past 12 months. Over the last year at Switchboard we’ve been responding to feedback from our communities and using our new Strategy to shape our current work and develop new projects. We’d like to invite you to join us at… Continue Reading Switchboard AGM
“What on earth is ‘community researcher’ training?” So asked a friend of mine recently when I had to cancel an arrangement with her to attend a Saturday training session at Switchboard in Brighton, a helpline charity which I used to volunteer for. I wasn’t sure how to answer my friend’s question at the time, but… Continue Reading Want to Change the World? Become a Community Researcher! Guest Blog Post by Matt
Macmillan Cancer Support and Switchboard launched two surveys today, to get a better understanding of the needs and experiences of LGBTQ people living with cancer in Sussex and East Surrey. This research is part of an ongoing programme of work to better understand the specific experiences of LGBTQ people with cancer and how they can… Continue Reading Charities want to hear from LGBTQ people living with cancer in Sussex and East Surrey
Older and LGBTQ? You’re welcome here. Many older LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) people find themselves having to go ‘back in the closet’ when they enter supported living arrangements like nursing homes, but one group of care homes in Brighton and Hove are making sure that this isn’t the care for their residents. Brighton-based LGBTQ charity Switchboard’s pioneering new LGBTQ Inclusion… Continue Reading Hove Care Homes Receive Award for LGBTQ Inclusion
Community tensions still a significant challenge for LGBTQ people of faith. LGBTQ people of faith in Brighton and Hove face unique challenges when it comes to experiencing prejudice, isolation and lack of support, according to the findings of recent community engagement by local LGBTQ charity, Switchboard. The project, commissioned by Brighton & Hove City Council… Continue Reading LGBTQ People of Faith Report Press Release
Switchboard is excited to launch a brand new LGBTQ+ Community Steering Group to help guide our work and place the voice of local lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans* and queer lived experience at the heart of all we do as a charity. Together the members will act as a ‘critical friend’ to Switchboard, providing input to help guide… Continue Reading New LGBTQ+ Community Steering Group
Switchboard have been working in partnership with Alzheimer’s Society and their innovation team on a new scheme currently being piloted in Brighton and Hove and Greater Manchester. Bring Dementia Out aims to raise awareness and provide support for LGBT+ people affected by dementia. While everyone’s experience of dementia is unique, there can be many additional… Continue Reading Switchboard partners with Alzheimer’s Society to Bring Dementia Out
Grief Encounters is a peer support group for LGBTQ people who have experienced a bereavement. There is currently no LGBTQ specific service for those of us who have been bereaved. Many LGBTQ people face a number of additional challenges when it comes to bereavement, in addition to universal experiences of grief, pain and sadness. This can… Continue Reading Grief Encounters