IDAHOBIT 2024: Find LGBTQIA+ inclusive alcohol and drug support
Check out the queer-led services ending discrimination with inclusive care for LGBTQIA+ people who want to change their substance use #IDAHOBIT2024
May 17 every year is IDAHOBIT, the International Day Against LGBTQIA+ Discrimination. We stand in solidarity with our teammates, colleagues, clients and community members who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, sistergirls, brotherboys, intersex, queer, asexual, or otherwise gender and/or sexuality diverse. We value, support and stand with you against discrimination, not only on May 17 but every day of the year.
Our team at Counselling Online includes people across the gender and sexuality spectrum. We know that access to care can be stressful for people who may have experienced abuse, discrimination or discomfort in mainstream services. There are health workers all around the world working to improve care for LGBTQIA+ people. We strive to ensure that all people can live in freedom and have access to the welcoming and inclusive services they deserve. Many of these services are provided by queer people, for queer people. We are so proud of the work the community is doing to take care of each other.
If you're interested in seeking help from a specialised LGBTQIA+ service, chat to us or check out some of these services available around the country — remember, most of these services are also happy to talk to ‘straight’ people about the LGBTQIA+ people they care about!
(FYI, we’ve generally chosen to use the acronym supplied by each service in our descriptions.)
General help and referral: QLife Telephone & Online Peer Support
QLife is a free national service that offers anonymous peer support from 3:00pm to midnight every day. Call them on 1800 184 527 or chat to them online about sexuality, gender, bodies, feelings or relationships. You’ll speak to experienced LGBTIQ+SB peers who can offer referral to LGBTIQ+SB-inclusive specialist services (eg, medical, counselling, legal, etc).
The website also offers helpful resources and the QDirectory, a guide to LGBTIQ+ services around Australia.
LGBTQIA+-inclusive Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) services
If you're LGBTQIA+ and struggle with problems related to drugs or alcohol, you’re not alone. LGBTQIA+ people are at a higher risk of problems related to substance use than the general population. The causes are complex and varied but are often closely related to the disadvantage, marginalisation and trauma of ongoing discrimination. Transphobia, homophobia, biphobia and other forms of discrimination must be considered in treatment, but the unique experiences of LGBTQIA+ people are sometimes not well understood by mainstream treatment programs. That's why many providers around the country offer specialised programs for LGBTQIA+ people who use substances, usually designed and run by fellow LGBTQIA+ people. There is a long history of queer-led organisations doing groundbreaking work with and for people who use drugs. Many services also specialise in helping people living with HIV and other blood-borne viruses.
This list covers just a few providers of LGBTQIA+ AOD programs around the country — Ask QLife or your local central intake service about other services in your area.
- National:
- SMART Recovery Meetings (filter the audience to LGBTIQ+ or Trans only)
- Alcoholics Anonymous LGBTQ+ meetings
- Narcotics Anonymous Australia meetings (filter to LGBTQI in the Formats dropdown menu)
- ACT:
- Meridian ACT offer harm reduction and support services for people in ACT, including a SMART Recovery program that offers discreet peer support group meetings online.
- NSW:
- ACON offers a variety of AOD programs including PivotPoint, a “one-stop-shop for sexuality and gender diverse people who are looking for support in relation to their AOD use”.
-
NT:
- NTAHC offers harm reduction, health promotion and treatment services for LGBTI people in the territory, including the LGBTI Living Well Program, needle and syringe programs (NSP), and one-on-one Care & Support for AOD issues. NTAHC also offers specialist services for Sex Workers.
- QLD:
- The Queensland Council for LGBTI Health offer QCGP+, a peer-based service that provides access to inclusive, non-judgmental nurses and doctors for a wide range of health issues.
- Open Doors Youth Service offers support to LGBTIQAP+ Sistergirl & Brotherboy people aged 12-24 across South East Queensland, including individual and group support for AOD use and a range of other issues.
- SA:
- ThorneHarbour Health & SHINE SA work in collaboration to offer AOD services at SAMESH, including counselling, brief intervention, care and recovery, and group support.
- TAS:
- Working It Out’s Signpost offers a directory of inclusive support services in Tasmania. Their list of Health & Wellbeing services includes various counselling services for people struggling with substance use.
- VIC:
-
ThorneHarbour Health offers one-on-one AOD counselling and case management along with a range of different group programs for LGBTIQ+ people around Victoria.
-
Switchboard’s Rainbow Door can connect you with inclusive services in your area, or you can check the online directory provided by Rainbow Network.
-
- WA:
- WAAC offer a range of services for LGBTIQA+ people, including general counselling, harm reduction programs that include a Needle & Syringe Exchange and methamphetamine peer education program.
- Freedom offers a range of support services for LGBTIQA+ young people in Western Australia, including counselling for substance use issues, peer support and social groups for young LGBTIQA+ people and their families. Their drop-in centre is located in Leederville in Perth, but telehealth counselling services are available statewide.
- Living Proud offers a directory of Local Groups, including peer support groups for people struggling with substance use.
Harm minimisation saves lives
Some people enjoy using substances ‘recreationally’ and don’t experience problems related to dependency or overuse. Your local harm minimisation organisations are a still a helpful resource. They can teach you to use various substances more safely and lower your risk, or how to respond if someone around you is in trouble.
Other helpful resources
Many great organisations are working to improve the lives and health of LGBTQIA+ people. These organisations support people with a wide range of issues, including those related to instersecting identities (for example, being simultaneously LGBTQIA+ and First Nations, disabled, and/or a person of colour).
LGBTIQ+ Health Australia
LGBTIQ+ Health Australia is the peak body for LGBTIQ+ health and wellbeing organisations. In addition to operating QLife, they also offer a range of services and resources for the community as well as advocating for policy improvement. Here are a few initiatives that might be helpful.
Genders, Bodies and Relationships Passport
LGBTIQ+ Health Australia has developed a free passport to help intersex, trans and gender diverse people communicate clearly with their healthcare providers and advocate for the care they need. The passport includes information about your rights and what you can expect from services. It also includes space to record personal information to help providers offer appropriate care.
Find out more or order a free copy on the LGBTIQ+ Health website
MindOut: Mental Health & Suicide Prevention
MindOut supports LGBTIQ+ people and communities to handle mental health needs and help others. The program provides webinars and resources along with training for communities and workplaces.
Disability Inclusion: Our Voices, Our Lives, Our Way
Currently in progress, this online learning experience is co-designed with LGBTIQ+ people with disability to tell their stories, advocate for themselves, and form community.
Sign up to stay up to date with the launch
TransHub
TransHub is a digital platform designed for trans and gender diverse (TGD) people in NSW, but it provides many practical guides and resources that will be useful for TGD people nationwide.
Check out their downloadable resources
Black Rainbow
Black Rainbow is a national peer-led organisation pursuing improved health and wellbeing for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander LGBQTIA+SB people, including various community projects to support the community and improve care.
Find out more about what they’re working on
Inclusive Rainbow Voices
This peer-led organisation advocates to improve access, inclusion, safety, equity and justice for all LGBTIQA+ people with disability. It’s a new organisation, so they’re looking for feedback about what their focus should be for the next five years.
Learn more about community consultations
GLBTIQ Multicultural Directory
The Australian GLBTIQ Multicultural Council provides this directory of organisations and services for people of different Cultural Identities around Australia.
Intersex Peer Support Australia & New Zealand (IPSA)
A peer-led organisation supporting people with variations of sex characteristics with a range of events and resources.
Forcibly Displaced People Network
A service led by LGBTIQ+ refugees to provide support and advocacy for people who have been forcibly displaced from their homeland due to their gender identity or sexual orientation.
Find out more about their work
WithRespect
WithRespect provides family and intimate partner violence support for LGBTIQ+ people and their families. Their website offers resources for professionals and the community, or call them on 1800 LGBTIQ (1800 542 847) to access support, referral and telecounselling.
Check out their community resources
Rainbow Network Resources
A well-curated directory of useful resources for queer people, their friends, family, and service providers.
Make complaints or offer feedback
Health services thrive when the community is involved in designing their care. If you’ve had an experience with a service provider that you think could be improved, we encourage you to tell somebody about it (if that feels safe to you).
It matters that you are offered a high standard of care. Sometimes, healthcare providers are unaware of their blind spots, so they may not understand they have made you feel uncomfortable or offered substandard care. There may be a policy or funding issue that needs to be examined, or a staff member might need to be reprimanded or retrained. It’s possible that given the information and opportunity, the service will improve — and if not, your complaint will still be on record as supporting evidence the next time somebody raises the problem.
You can offer feedback directly to the provider in question, but if you feel unable or unwilling to do that, you can talk to a Health Consumer advice network or make a report to the Complaints Commission in your state. Check out this guide to key contacts to support your healthcare rights.
We also encourage you to send feedback when you receive great service! Many community health organisations rely on government funding to provide their services. Having a written record of client satisfaction helps to prove to the funders that they are providing an essential service that needs to continue. This is also why some health services might ask about your gender or sexuality when it seems irrelevant — the data they collect can help to prove to the funders that an issue or service needs more funding.
Reach out to us
If you’re experiencing problems related to substances or care about somebody who is, we’re here to chat about it — free, confidential, 24/7. Our service is inclusive and non-judgmental.
