Switchboard - by the LGBTQIA+ community, for the LGBTQIA+ community.
For over five decades, Switchboard has supported the LGBTQIA+ community through challenges and triumphs, offering a listening ear in difficult times and moments of joy.
For over five decades, Switchboard has supported the LGBTQIA+ community through challenges and triumphs, offering a listening ear in difficult times and moments of joy. Whether you knew us best as Gay Switchboard or the London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard (LLGS), our ethos has always been clear: Switchboard is by the LGBTQIA+ community, for the LGBTQIA+ community. We are here, 365 days a year, to serve and support the those who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex and Asexual, as well as our allies, from everyday enquiries to life-defining decisions.
Our History
Switchboard, the national LGBTQIA+ support line, was founded in 1974; 7 years after the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales, which allowed gay men over the age of 21 to have legal consensual sex. We hosted the UK’s first seminar on AIDS in collaboration with the Terrence Higgins Trust and the Gay Medical Association in 1983, we helped young people navigate the enactment of Section 28 in 1988, and we were on hand to answer calls the evening of The Admiral Duncan bombing in 1999. We continue to support those impacted by these experiences to this very day, and offer corporate talks and training sessions, online or in-person, that explore our decades of history in detail. Book a session with us today to better understand the realities of LGBTQIA+ experiences and help drive meaningful change at your place of work.
Our Volunteers
Switchboard volunteers offer free and confidential support via phone (0800 0119 100), online chat (switchboard.lgbt) and email (hello@switchboard.lgbt). We provide information and non-judgemental guidance to the queer community, including those questioning, as well as their friends, family members, and allies. Every day, we talk about relationships (both sexual and platonic), sexuality, mental health, gender and more. Our services are available to anyone, anywhere in the UK and you don’t have to be in crisis to message or call.
Switchboard is completely anonymous and confidential. Our trained volunteers are all part of the LGBTQIA+ community. If you would like to volunteer for Switchboard, you can find out more information and apply via our website: switchboard.lgbt/volunteer
Staying Connected
Learn more about Switchboard’s story by listening to the award-winning podcast, The Log Books or watching The Call and The Callers. And to keep up-to-date with everything Switchboard, follow us on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, and TikTok.