Who we are

Switchboard was established in 1975 by members of the Birmingham Gay Liberation Front.  The service originally operated from a volunteer's spare room in Moseley, South Birmingham.  Since then we have grown considerably and have taken over a hundred thousand calls over a period of more than 30 years. 

We are a telephone listening service, offering information, support and referrals to lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transsexual communities from all backgrounds in the West Midlands. 

The service is run entirely by volunteers who identify as lesbian, gay, bi-sexual or transsexual.  Our volunteers are diverse in terms of age, background and experience, which is reflective of the local LGBT community. We hope this enables us to better understand the needs of our callers. Our volunteers are not counsellors, however all volunteers receive comprehensive training in active listening skills and empathy.  As such, volunteers do not see their role as telling callers what to do, but more to listen to concerns, with a view to helping callers identify their options. 

We are proud to continue offering a confidential and non-judgemental listening service to the LGBT community, which we have now been doing for over 30 years.