| Services |
| Phoneline service |
| Email service |
| External training |
| About us |
| History |
| Press |
| Finances |
| Volunteerng with OF |
| General enquiries |
| Home |
History
Oxford Friend has been going now for over 25 years. Below you will find some key events in our history, plus some important developments for gay and lesbian people in Oxford and elsewhere that have happened since the group first started.| 1980 - Oxford Friend (Lesbian and Gay Helpline) is set up by a group of local volunteers. The original volunteers were part of the local branch of the Commission for Homosexual Equality. 1983 - The Jolly Farmers opens as a gay-run pub in Oxford. 1986 - OXAIDS is set up as a local information, support and campaigning group fighting HIV/AIDS in Oxford. 1980s - Lesbian Line sets up a helpline in Oxford, which forms part of a national network of lesbian helplines. The line ran until 1998. 1986 - Oxford Friend volunteers join other LGBTs from the area in ‘Project October’, an ambitious plan to set up a LGBT community centre in Oxford. Project October resulted in the setting up of the centre at Northgate Hall. 1988 - Oxford Friend is registered as a charity. 1989 - Paddy Ashdown (then leader of the Liberal Democrat Party) writes in his memoirs about his visit to Oxford Friend. His visit to Oxford was to find out how local lesbian and gay people organise themselves to take action in their community. 1991 - Oxford’s Lesbian and Gay Community Centre is opened by Sir Ian McKellan at Northgate Hall. OLGCC was one of the only LGB community centres in the country until its closure in 2005. 1999 - OXAIDS merges with national charity Terrence Higgins Trust to form an Oxford branch of THT. 1999 - HALT (the Homophobic Awareness Liaison Team) is formed in Oxford. HALT brings together the police and local organizations in joint efforts to address homophobia. 2000 - Hundreds of people stage a demonstration at Carfax in Oxford, and hold up Stagecoach buses as part of a protest about Section 28. (The owner of Stagecoach, Brian Souter, was busy organising an (unsuccessful) campaign to try to keep Section 28 as law in Scotland). 2000 - Oxford Friend helps set up a national project, ‘National Coming Out Day’. LGB helplines throughout the country stay open for 24 hrs on one specific day - 7th October 2000. 2002 - oxfordfriend.co.uk is launched, a website aiming to supply information to people who might not feel confident calling a helpline. 2003 - The first ever Oxford Pride is held at Oxpens Field. Oxford Friend contributes a rather successful tombola stall which is featured in The Pink Paper. 2005 - confidential@oxfordfriend, an innovative new email service, is launched to provide information and support to people who prefer to use email rather than the phone. 2005 - One of the founders of Oxford Friend is named in the 'Top 100 Most Influential Lesbians and Gay Men in the UK'. Pepe Catalan comes in at no. 78 in the Independent on Sunday‘s listing. Elton John was no. 1 2005 - Oxford Friend celebrates 25 years of providing a listening ear 2006 - Oxford Friend volunteers are awarded the prestigious Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service from HRH Queen Elizabeth II |
Press
You can read what the local and national press have said about us by following the links below.
by following the links below.
| Oxford Mail article on Queen's Award. July 2006 | The local view of our award. |
| Fyne Times interview. January 2002 | You can learn a bit about the history of our group in this article. |
Finances
Oxford Friend was established as a telephone helpline and counselling service by a group of volunteers in 1980. We registered the organisation as a charity in 1988 (charity no. 299903). We are run entirely by volunteers, and this helps keep our costs to a minimum, spending around £2,000 per year. Our main costs are publicity and advertising (bus adverts, stalls at events, leaflets, etc), rental of office and phone line and training of volunteers.Our income comes from several sources. We have been lucky enough to get a small grant from Oxford City Council each year since 1984. We also receive regular standing-order donations from a core group of supporters and occasional donations from other individuals and organisations. In addition to this we make some money from fundraising activities and events. Lastly we make a certain amount by delivering training on lesbian and gay issues to other agencies. (If you would like to make a donation to Oxford Friend, then you can click the button at the bottom of the section or send your donation to Oxford Friend, PO Box 137, East Oxford DO, Oxford, OX4 2WL. )
It has always been support ‘in kind’ that has kept Oxford Friend going.
Volunteering with Oxford Friend
We are always keen to have new volunteers. We're sure that there are all kinds of questions you may have about volunteering, and we hope you will ring the line to discuss them with us. However, we've tried to answer a few of those questions in these pages:- What sort of people do we need? All of our workers are lesbian or gay and have been carefully chosen as approachable and understanding people who are easy to talk to. Your own experience, however similar to, or different from, that of those people who call us, qualifies you in the best possible way. You will need to be a good listener, non-judgemental, open-minded and unshockable. You will, of course, need training, supervision and support, and that takes place immediately after you start.
- What is involved in being a volunteer? It may be helpful to give you some idea of the amount of time we would expect new trainees to commit to as part of our group: Firstly, it is essential that you are able to attend our monthly business meetings held on the first Thursday of each month, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Secondly, although the line is staffed three evenings a week, staff members and trainees are never normally asked to do more than two evenings a month. New volunteers are required to undergo initial training held (usually) twice a month. In short, while you are training you might be asked to give up five or six evenings in the first couple of months, but this would drop to about three evenings a month in the longer term.
- What is the process for applying to become a volunteer? If you think that volunteering for Oxford Friend would suit you, you can ring us during our normal hours and we will send you an information pack. Alternatively, you can download the information pack using the link at the bottom of the section. The application form in the pack allows you to give us a few details about yourself. When you return the form to us, we'll go about setting up an informal interview, with two of our members (usually a man and a woman). This gives us a chance to learn a little more about you, and for you to quiz us about the group and how it works etc. After this your interviewers will make a recommendation to the group about whether you should be invited to join us as a trainee. If successful you will be invited to the next meeting after that, at which point someone will be assigned to you as a 'mentor' - someone who will support you through your training.
- What does training as a volunteer involve?Soon after you have been accepted you will listen in to calls being taken by other group members and discuss them afterwards, maintaining the confidentiality of the caller. When a small group of new volunteers has been formed, a more formal training programme will begin taking place over a number of weeks. When you and your mentor feel you are ready, you will begin to take calls while an experienced member listens in. Although this may seem a rather 'drawn out' process, we believe it is important that, whatever the call, the volunteers answering the line are able to offer the best possible service. You will also be invited to attend our quarterly training days. Training usually lasts about six to nine months, at the end of which your progress is discussed. Assuming everyone has confidence in your ability to provide an appropriate service, you will be welcomed into Oxford Friend as a full member. Would you like to know more? Call us and we will do our best to answer your questions.
| Application form (pdf version)
|
Application form (MS Word version)
|