Alessandra Rossi (GAY HELP LINE Coordinator)
Gay Help Line is the national anti-homophobia and anti-transphobia contact centre for gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans people run by the Gay Centre. What kind of activities do you carry out?
Our service offers support and a listening space via the toll-free number 800713713 and the anonymous chat room Speakly.org to LGBT+ people who need a channel to be able to tell what they would not be able to share within their own social spaces.
The service guarantees non-judgmental listening, which goes beyond prejudice and stereotypes, necessary to strengthen a positive self-identity, avoiding the stigmatisation and exclusion processes that are unfortunately still a reality within our country.
We offer counselling services for people who suffer discrimination, violence, hatred because of their sexual orientation or gender identity within family contexts, in the workplace or from strangers. Homotransphobia acts as a prejudice factor and it can affect anyone, with negative consequences on the whole community.
Our outreach includes a listening space with operators who have different legal and professional skills. In addition to this, we provide psychological support and mediation services in the family sphere, precisely because coming out can often constitute a rupture between oneself and the important people in one’s life.
The social mediation we provide also supports the completion of their education and prevents them from being excluded from the working world.
What are the main difficulties that stop people from contacting you?
They may differ according to age. Younger boys and girls, who are underage or just coming of age, may be afraid of encountering further victimisation or of not being understood. They are often used to living in a condition of isolation and do not imagine that on the other side of the phone or the screen (when they use the chat), there may be a community that talks about them and which is ready to welcome them and give them back that space of visibility. Precisely because of the stigmatisation they lived, very often it is fear that prevents them from contacting us.
As far as more adult people are concerned, there may be a mistrust of going through the legal protection system.
Marina Marini (Coordinator of REFUGE LGBT and REFUGE T*)
Refuge LGBT+ offers a first accommodation service for young victims of homotransphobia and for trans people aged 16 to 25 who are victims of discrimination. How can someone access the service and what services are offered to the guests of the shelter?
Refuge LGBT+, like all our services, can be accessed by calling the toll-free number 800713713 or via a dedicated chat that leaves no trace (Speakly.org). We listen to people’s stories and then we assess the possible services provided.
The shelter’s service is not limited to welcoming the person, but the association offers legal, psychological and counselling support; we also deal with migrants who in some way also need to regularise their position in the territory and sometimes with families who may be in need. We also offer a series of training and job accompaniment activities.
We provide a mentoring service as well for those who are attending school, which is essential in order to be always in touch with teachers and managers.
You work closely with many young people who come to you with very difficult experiences and who, thanks to the project, find new hope for their future. How do you manage to encourage them when they no longer have any prospects?
We take in boys and girls from 16 to 25 years of age who at the time they came out have suffered violence in the family, not only physical but also psychological.
The people who come here obviously have fragilities and first of all we try to rebuild a secure base for them.
They have different histories, experiences and contexts; the more complex the situation of fragility, the more our work has to intensify.
For us it is not just a job, it is a mission which translates into a daily commitment that we carry out with all our strength. The objective is to help these people to have their own autonomy and their own life.
We asked Ray, a beneficiary, to share her experience
How did you come into contact with the project?
I came into contact with the project after another unpleasant situation arose at home and the dynamics of violence increased. I asked a friend for advice who told me to call Gay help line, and I did. At first those ‘chats’ gave me comfort, then they told me they would have put me in touch with an educator. Honestly, I did not expect such accuracy.
A few hours later I was contacted by another person who again asked me about my story.
A few days later, it was assumed that I met the requirements to enter the shelter. I did not expect to be eligible, but I was experiencing more violence than I wanted to see.
What was it like for you to arrive at the shelter and what kind of path did you take thanks to the project?
For me, arriving at the shelter was important; it gave me the chance to dialogue. As a first step, I adopted another name as a non-binary person.
One of the questions they asked me was whether or not I wanted a psychological support. I had been hoping for this for years and immediately answered yes. This path turned out to be very important and I am still continuing it, despite being out of the shelter.
At the beginning, it was difficult to adapt to the rules of the house: they seemed too strict, but they turned out to be useful. I had a lot of difficulties interacting with people, but thanks to the path I took in the home I feel more comfortable in the social context and in interacting with others.
Where do you imagine yourself in a few years?
In a few years time I hope to have made good progress in my current relationship with my girlfriend, with whom I am creating a nice bond based on emotional education and excellent communication.
I am also creating a lot of friendships and I see myself “settling down” five years from now, I don’t know if with children.
As far as a career is concerned, I am a singer and I would like to have already achieved something important in this aspect of my life, in Italy or abroad…
If you had to send a message to your peers, what would it be?
Since we are living difficult times, with many bad news, I would say: don’t get discouraged, even if it sounds absurd to say something like that, but I think it’s the only thing we can actually do.
Putting aside the pain to be able to take advantage of the situation we live in, allows us to bring a strong message. Despite the fear, we have to find spaces to say what needs to be said.
Rain is the cause of the rainbow and even on rainy days there is still sunshine behind the clouds. It is important to find the good in the bad to get out of situations and not to stop.