Family and Friends

Family and Friends

The family and friends of people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender may also need support and information. LGBT Ireland’s helpline volunteers are trained to listen and provide support to the family and friends of LGBT people. This includes the spouses/partners and children of people in heterosexual relationships who come out.

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LGBT Helpline

1800 929 539

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Support Service

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About Family and Friends

The friends and family of LGBT people might need support and this can include parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles, cousins or the children of LGBT people.

When a friend or family member “comes out” it can be a challenging time. It can really help to talk to someone and our volunteers understand that it can be hard for families when a loved one comes out. If you’d like to speak to someone please call our National LGBT Helpline on freephone 1800 929 539.


People in straight presenting relationships may also come out as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender and can call the LGBT Ireland Helpline for support. This can be a very difficult and confusing time them as well as for their spouses, partners and/or children. LGBT Ireland’s helpline volunteers are trained to listen and provide support to people dealing with this situation.

We also run a Transgender Family Support Line which is run by non-judgemental volunteers who themselves have a transgender or gender non-confirming family member, and is open to provide support and information for you and your family. Call us on 01 907 3707 available every Tuesday (10am-12pm) and Sunday’s (6pm-9pm).

Often parents would like to speak to others who have an LGBT family member, you can find a contact number for LOOK (Loving Our Out Kids) here.

There are some groups and organisations that provide support and information specifically for families, these are listed and linked on the right hand side of this page. Also many of our helplines have information on their websites that will be useful to family and friends, you can go to these websites by clicking on the logos at the bottom of the page.

You can find our general support information here.