National Helpline

The Trustees were delighted to announce in July 2007 the introduction of an expansion of The Gender Trust National Helpline (previously known as the Information Line). This innovation comes from of two years of planning and has resulted in a 7 day a week service. The Trust is grateful to the National Lottery , The Lloyds TSB Foundation for England , Awards for All, and The Allen Lane Foundation for helping with this project.

Planning For The Future

The need for an expanded service arose out an analysis that the Trust undertook of its work in 2005-6. One of the most important issues that our members and others highlighted was the difficulty in accessing support when they needed it. The Trust has already expanded its Regional Representative network but the Helpline was seen as our most important way of supporting people in the future.

Service Details

The service, 0845 231 0505, commenced on Monday 23 July 2007 and runs between the hours of 10am - 10pm Monday to Friday, and 1pm - 10pm Saturday and Sunday. The Gender Trust is a member of the Telephone Helpines Association and operates the helpline to their standards. We have an A4 poster in Acrobat(.pdf, 507Kb) format for the service. If you are able to download and display this anywhere we would appreciate it.

The helpline operates to give information and support to anyone effected by gender identity issues. As well as welcoming calls from individuals who have difficulties around their gender (transsexual, transgender and gender variant people) we are happy to receive calls from family members, friends, employers, professionals etc. Although the Trust's work is largely focussed on those who wish to make a permanent changes to their gender expression, we are supportive of those who term themselves transvestite or cross-dressers. We do not act as a contact organisation for anyone who is not a member of the Trust or those who seek friendship with trans people.

Helpline Staff

The line is staffed by volunteers who have undergone a 2 day training programme. These people come from all around the UK, including Northern Ireland, and are dedicated to the help and support of anyone who calls with problems associated with gender identity issues.

Management & Training

General management of the line is from our Brighton office and a duty supervisor is available each day to support the advisors. If you are interested in working on this project once you have undergone all expenses paid training, please read the Introduction to The Gender Trust National Helpline document and then contact Michelle Bridgman, Project Manager or Rory Smith, Administrator:

Phone 01273 234024 (Monday & Friday 10am-1pm, Tuesday-Thursday 9am-5pm; dependent on staff availability).

We are also looking for volunteers to act as 'Mystery Shoppers' to evaluate the quality of the service. If you would consider participating in either of these roles contact us as above. You do not need to be a member of The Gender Trust or a trans person.

 

The Gender Trust is supported by: