A shortage of services for gay people in the north-west has led to the setting-up of a new professional counselling service. The service started last week in Derry at Foyle Friend, an organisation for gay, lesbian and bisexual people, and is one of a number of recent developments welcomed by the gay community in the city. Derry's first gay bar opened within the past month and Foyle Friend has received a u£300,000 grant from the British National Lottery for a new community centre.
The counselling service is being provided by the Belfast-based Rainbow Project after research conducted among gay and bisexual men across Northern Ireland found a need for gay-specific support services.
A lack of specific services for gays and lesbians throughout the north-west means that those provided in Derry are widely used by people from Donegal and other Border areas. Mr Adrian McCracken, the manager of the Rainbow Project, said its research found that 68 per cent of gay men were willing to discuss problems with a gay male counsellor, while only 36 per cent were willing to do so with a GP.
He said the survey also showed that gay men were still suffering the consequences of society not accepting them. Nearly half of those questioned had considered moving away because of their sexuality, three-quarters wanted help for low self-esteem, and 27 per cent frequently tried to convince themselves they were heterosexual.
Thirty per cent had been physically abused, 48 per cent had suffered emotional abuse, mostly from school peers, and nearly a quarter of all respondents had suffered sexual abuse. The average age when the sexual abuse occurred was 14, and in a quarter of cases it was repeated over a lengthy period.
Mr McCracken said he believed homophobic attacks were also increasing although this was difficult to prove because the majority of incidents were never reported and the RUC did not have a specific procedure for recording such "hate crimes". The organisation is in discussions with the RUC about put ting such a system in place.
Based on the survey findings, he said the social services needed to address the needs of gay men and that "tolerance education" should also be introduced in schools.
The Rainbow Project deals only with men and the counselling service, which is to be provided every Monday at the premises of Foyle Friend, will cater only for gay and bisexual men. However, Foyle Friend hopes to provide a counselling service soon for both men and women.
Mr Sean Morrin of Foyle Friend said there was already a huge demand for its services. The group runs a number of self-help groups, including one for people who have had addiction problems, and a helpline is manned by volunteers every Thursday evening.
"People ringing the helpline often have to be referred to professional counsellors, but having a gay counsellor is that bit more safe. It is easier to be totally open about your sexuality," he said.
Funding of u£297,000 granted by the British national lottery in December will allow Foyle Friend to buy premises and to run a community resource centre. A full-time worker will be employed and the centre will include a coffee shop and a gay library.
The group works from small offices in a building shared with a number of organisations. Mr Morrin said the new centre, which will open within months, will be a lot more visible. It will be "a safe, secure place" and will be located in an area acceptable to people from both Catholic and Protestant backgrounds, as the work of Foyle Friend is completely cross-community.
It is hoped to offer a service in Donegal at some point in the future because of the high number of phone calls received from over the Border.
Mr Morrin said there was traditionally a high level of emigration among gay people from the North to England and the United States. "They could never live as themselves, but I believe now the centre will serve to stop that. I know people who are already beginning to return."
Gay people were forced to live with homophobia. "It can be everything from smart comments down to being frightened out of employment. Young people at school in particular experience terrible bullying."
There have been several physical assaults over recent years, particularly when the profile of the gay community was raised in the media. It was not, however, a major issue in Derry now, he said. After a spate of attacks on gay people three years ago, gay organisations, supported by many community groups, held an anti-violence march through the city.
The opening of Derry's first exclusively gay bar is further evidence of changed times. Tarlach O'Neill, a native of Derry, has returned after 16 years in London, and, along with his partner of 18 years, bought the Saints and Scholars pub on the Strand Road. He intends to change its name to Ascension to reflect "the rising up of gay people in Derry".
"Before I went to London, I was consistently barred from pubs in Derry, and I was someone who never drank. I was barred because they didn't want `my type' in their pubs. So this has been a kind of personal dream - no one on the gay scene will ever have to experience that again."
He said that while the bar was primarily for gay people, everybody was welcome. One of the first events planned is a party for gays and their families. People from all over the north-west were "flocking" to the bar and it was being used by both gays and lesbians.
Information on the counselling service can be got from (08)01232-319030 or (08)-01504263120.