Call us on 0800 OUTLINE (0800 688 5463) any evening between 6pm and 9pm to talk to a trained volunteer from Aotearoa’s rainbow communities.
It’s free and confidential. Leave a message if we can’t answer and we can call you back.
Who is this service for?
We’re here if you want to talk about rainbow identities and lives. We focus on topics around sexual orientation, gender identity and diverse sex characteristics, as well as rainbow people’s life experiences.
We welcome calls from people who are questioning their sexuality or gender identity, LGBTIQA+/rainbow people, their friends, whānau and colleagues, or professionals who work with rainbow people as clients or customers.
All calls and callers are confidential and anonymous.
When we say rainbow, we mean people whose sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or sex characteristics are different from majority norms. We’re including people who identify with words like takatāpui, lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex, transgender, queer, non-binary or fa’afafine, as well as people who don’t use specific words for their identity, people whose identity changes over time, and people who are still in the process of understanding their own identity.
What can we help with?
Our volunteers welcome your call to discuss topics around sexual orientation, gender identity and diverse sex characteristics. They can help you find sources of trusted information, connection to community or peers, and medical or mental health services that welcome rainbow people.
Some of the topics people call to talk about include family relationships, loneliness and isolation, sexuality and gender identity, sexual health, navigating gender-affirming healthcare and meeting people.
For people who want to talk about topics that are not related to rainbow identities and lives, please check this list of services that may better meet your needs.
How to access this service
Call us on 0800 688 5463 (0800 OUTLINE). It’s free and confidential to call. We’re here every evening, 6pm-9pm.
What if there’s no answer?
OutLine’s peer support services are provided by volunteers from our rainbow communities, meaning you can speak to someone without judgement, coming from a place of understanding and experience. Because our phone service relies on volunteer capacity and availability, there may be times when volunteers are unavailable.
If you call and we can’t answer, thanks for reaching out. We’re sorry we can’t be there for you in this moment, but don’t worry – we can call you back when a volunteer is free.
Simply leave a voicemail message with your name and phone number, and one of our volunteers will call you back – usually within the next three to four days. Our call-back hours are between 6pm to 9pm every day. Return calls are still free, confidential and anonymous – we’ll only use your name and phone number to call you back.
If you’d rather not leave a message, please feel free to try calling another time.
You can also try our free and confidential online chat service.
If you need more immediate support, please see this list of support services. In an emergency phone 111, if anyone is in immediate physical danger.