Quebec LGBTQ2S+ helpline urging users to leave voicemail messages with premier

Due to a lack of recurring funding, the Interligne listening service - formerly known as Gai Écoute - will no longer be offered at night as of March 31. To raise awareness of the importance of the resource, the organization is launching an advertising campaign on Wednesday inviting its users and allies to leave messages on Premier François Legault's voicemail, "to remind him that the night listening line saves lives."

Interligne announced last fall that without an increase in its government funding, which is historically behind schedule, it would no longer be able to respond to nighttime distress calls from its clients. A recurring sum of $300,000 would be needed to ensure the survival of the service between midnight and 8 a.m.

"The goal is to save the night service and to allow our organization to offer decent working conditions. Our salaries are barely higher than the minimum wage, which will soon be increased in May," said Interligne general manager Pascal Vaillancourt.

Otherwise accessible 24 hours a day, an average of 35,000 calls are made annually to the Interligne listening and referral line; of these, about a third are made at night, the organization says.

Vaillancourt said the service is vital and essential, especially since the calls made in the middle of the night are more "intense."

"These are distress calls, sometimes suicidal, people who suffer from anxiety and isolation," he said. "At night, it is also a more intimate time, and we have people who take advantage of the fact that others are sleeping to call us."

VULNERABLE CLIENTELE

"This request is all the more important because Interligne's specialized line is the only one of its kind in Quebec and Canada, a resource we should be proud of and seek to protect at all costs," said Vaillancourt. "Our workers are specially trained to deal with the issues of the LGBTQ+ community. There are other hotlines, of course, but since they generally help the heterosexual and cisgender population, there is a possibility of offering support while committing microaggressions, for example, by shanking someone."

What's more, the LGBTQ+ clientele is more vulnerable than others; they are more prone to mental health problems, to suicidal ideation, to developing a substance abuse problem or to experiencing homelessness, Vaillancourt pointed out.

"The reason for this preponderance is simple: even though attitudes have moved on, community members still experience stress about accepting their identity or the prospect of revealing it; they are intimidated or fear violence," he said.

CALL FOR LEADERSHIP

The voice message strategy, which will be complemented by a poster campaign, is a reminder of the unsuccessful attempts by the organization to have its funding adjusted to its current needs.

"We really liked the concept of referring appeals, as our appeals to the government have gone unanswered," said Vaillancourt. "What we want is for the premier to see the importance of a service that is truly adapted to the LGBTQ+ communities. So we invite people to wake up Mr. Legault.

"The government has already implied that our resource is not a mental health service when that's all we do. We would like our government to show some leadership."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 14, 2023.