The Halifax Gayline started in 1972 and ceased operations in 1996 after supplying one fourth century of information, referral and counselling service to your gay/lesbian/bisexual (and interested, and homophobic) communities.
It was staffed by trained volunteers and had been funded by GAE and soon after GALA; from then on injury down, other GayBars donated room and cash for the device line. The hours of this Gayline had been for the part that is most 7:30 to 10:00pm Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
We had the interesting quantity, 429-6969!
Into the 90’s the name ended up being changed to your Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Line.
The Gayline relocated around! Listed here is some timelines:
Training for the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexal Line had been a whole-day session with current volunteers including a person who had been a social worker, then a few changes working together with a present user.
NilsClausson writes: one of several things that are first did was put up the Gay Line. I became one of many original volunteers in 1972 and 1973, along side TommyBurns, DavidGray, EdSlade, JimDeYoung, AnneFulton and another or two other people whose names have actually disappeared to the mists of the time. We had been trained by DianeWarren, who had been in the board of GaeGala (as vice-chair, i do believe; she later became seat). Diane had been a volunteer regarding the City of Halifax’s Help Line (therefore had been DavidGray she provided the training as I recall) and so.
EmeraldGibson writes: I happened to be phone line director GAE AGM in 1979 until 1981 whenever Gary western took over midway through the season. It absolutely was within my tenure that the training changed and a manual was created for the volunteers. The positioning never ever appeared to be held being a key somehow some real method some body constantly learned additionally the protection for the volunteers had been constantly in danger. Used to do inside my term promote the relative line making inquiries about marketing. We sent an inquiry up to a base newspaper in CFB Greenwood about prices and inquire whatever they would charge to create it got mail straight right back a couple weeks later on with a duplicate regarding the add as well as an invoice of $5, call after this produced dramtic enhance to the line but therefore did the crank calls.
DanielMacKay writes: I became using the Gayline for around ten years, through the mid-eighties until its demise, working a couple of 3-hour shifts that are thursday-night thirty days. For a night that is busy could expect a half dozen telephone calls. The smattering of homophobic calls which made your lifetime interesting – it absolutely was a challenge that is real result in the ‘phobes realize you had been a genuine individual, and present them some details about being homosexual. Needless to say we realize that many these”bashers that are gay had been interested so switching around that sort of call was gratifying. A lot more social anxiety live video chat than 50percent of this telephone calls had been individuals curious about where in fact the CruisingAreas had been, tourists thinking about the bathrooms and GayBars, etc. creating when you look at the ’80s we provided down SaferSex information along side these instructions. a number that is small of had been actual counselling calls and so they had been actually satisfying. For it, suicide calls were very rare — in discussion with the other workers, in the almost quarter century of operation we only ever got one although we were trained.
With its last incarnation, the device had been found in the cellar of Studio and for it, but the relaying of the bills didn’t work very well and when the GayLine wound down I had a couple hundred dollars to pay since I have had arranged for going it here, the bills found me personally; there is a casual sponsorship cope with the master of Studio to pay for. The balance states we had telephone number 423-7129.
One longtime volunteer claims, “all the telephone phone calls had been when it comes to three B’s – pubs, Baths, and Bushes.”