Irish LGBT Helpline to Run Volunteer Recruitment Campaign at National Ploughing Championships
The LGBT Helpline – the national support service for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people – will run a volunteer recruitment campaign at the National Ploughing Championships, which take place in Ratheniska, Co. Laois, this week (22nd to 24th September).
The aim of the campaign will be to recruit people who identify as LGBT as volunteers for the organisation’s nationwide support services.
The LGBT Helpline was established in 2010 to provide confidential support and information to LGBT people, and to their families and friends. The organisation operates its services through a network of local helpline centres, with teams of trained volunteers offering non-judgemental and confidential listening, support and information on a range of issues relating to sexuality and gender identity.
At the National Ploughing Championships, the LGBT Helpline will share a stand with GLEN, the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network. Visitors to the stand will be able to access information about volunteering with the Helpline, and sign up to become a volunteer. The stand will be located in the Health and Wellness Tent, Dunamise and Nore, Block 1, Row 26, Stand No. 435.
Announcing details of the volunteer recruitment campaign today (21.09.15), Paula Fagan, Coordinator of the LGBT Helpline, said: “We operate a national service, so it is really important to us that we have volunteers from right across Ireland.
“In the past, it has been particularly difficult to recruit LGBT volunteers from rural communities. However, the National Ploughing Championships offer the perfect opportunity for us to meet with LGBT people from rural backgrounds, and to tell them about our services. Our hope is that some of them will be interested in volunteering with us. The support services we provide are almost entirely dependent on the contribution of volunteers. Without them, our helplines simply could not operate.”
Ms. Fagan said that, despite the strong ‘yes’ vote in rural areas for the recent marriage equality referendum, LGBT people can still face challenges in rural communities.
“One of the most positive aspects of the ‘yes’ result in the referendum was that it was so evenly distributed throughout the country,” she said. “It showed that LGBT rights are recognised and valued in communities throughout Ireland, and sent a very clear message that people nationwide were in favour of marriage equality.
“However, despite the huge amount of goodwill generated in the wake of the referendum, some people can still find it difficult to come out as LGBT, or they may feel they will face difficulties if they openly express their sexual identity. This can be particularly true in close-knit rural communities, and that’s why it is so important that we have helpline volunteers from such communities.
“We currently have 60 volunteers from right across the country, and we’re hoping to recruit an additional 30 volunteers at the Ploughing Championships this week. We will be running volunteering training in Cork, Galway, Kilkenny, Louth and Mayo in the coming months, so we are particularly interested in recruiting people from these areas.”
The LGBT Helpline can be contacted on 1890-929-539, and its opening hours are as follows:
- Monday to Wednesday:30pm to 9pm.
- Thursdays: 8pm to
- Fridays: 4pm to
- Saturdays and Sundays: 4pm to
In addition to its telephone helpline service, the LGBT Helpline offers online chat support through a free, confidential, instant messaging service. The organisation also runs specialist peer support groups that offer safe spaces to talk openly and confidentially with people who are going through similar experiences. For further information, go to www.lgbt.ie.