WOW is a service for women who identify as lesbian, bisexual or queer, and runs on Wednesday evenings from 7pm – 10pm. All calls will be handled by trained women hotliners. Callers can dial the number 6226 6629 if they wish to have a listening ear, to seek emotional support for their issues, or get connected to community resources.
Sharon Sng, team leader for Oogachaga Women (OCW), said:
“This initiative was started in response to a call from within the women’s community for a specific point of contact to access supportive services for gay women. We hope this hotline will help build a more connected and supportive community in Singapore.”
Since April this year, Oogachaga has been preparing its women volunteers as part of a structured training programme to equip them with the necessary skills to attend to callers who may present a range of issues, including relationship difficulties, questions about sexuality, sexual health and violence.
Since 2006, Oogachaga has been running Singapore’s first and only hotline for the LGBTQ community, called the OC Hotline [tel: 6226 2002]. The service continues to operate 4 days a week, and averages 20 – 30 calls per month, attending a range of issues. Additionally, a Whatsapp service is run alongside the hotline to offer greater convenience to callers.
Oogachaga’s executive director, Bryan Choong, said:
“The range of direct services offered by Oogachaga, which includes the hotline, Whatsapp, email and face-to-face counselling, offers various accessible means for our service-users to reach us. While our hotline, Whatsapp and email counselling services offer convenience and anonymity, our face-to-face counselling by trained counsellors and social workers offers a professional service delivered with an LGBTQ-affirmative stance. We provide an assurance of confidentiality for all our services.”
About Oogachaga:
Oogachaga (OC) is a counselling and personal development organisation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) individuals in Singapore. We are a non-profitable organisation under the umbrella of SPACES Counselling and Community Limited. SPACES (Registration No. 200402955N) in a company limited by guarantee with registered charity status in Singapore (Charity no. 01812).
Website: http://www.oogachaga.com/congregaytion/news/detail/386/WOW-hotline
LGBTQ portal: http://www.congregaytion.sg
Oogachaga’s Counselling Services:
WOW Hotline: 6226 6229 (Wed: 7pm – 10pm)
OC Hotline: 6226 2002 (Tue, Wed, Thu: 7pm – 10pm; Sat: 2pm – 6pm)
Whatsapp: 8592 0609 (Tue, Wed, Thu: 7pm – 10pm; Sat: 2pm – 6pm)
Email: www.oogachaga.com/CARE
Counselling appointments: 6224 9373/ counselling@oogachaga.com