00:00:00.417 --> 00:00:02.336
[click and whir
of a film projector]

00:00:07.508 --> 00:00:08.925
[whoosh]

00:00:08.926 --> 00:00:10.177
[scattering]

00:00:11.970 --> 00:00:13.387
[electric hum]

00:00:13.388 --> 00:00:15.599
[click]

00:00:19.603 --> 00:00:22.523
[dove calls]

00:00:24.608 --> 00:00:26.735
[soft piano music]

00:00:28.195 --> 00:00:30.738
[dog barks nearby]

00:00:30.739 --> 00:00:32.658
[traffic hums]

00:00:35.244 --> 00:00:38.914
[birds chirp]

00:00:45.879 --> 00:00:48.339
LISTENER 1:
When the phone rings

00:00:48.340 --> 00:00:51.133
you feel a sense of

00:00:51.134 --> 00:00:52.969
giving. It’s like…

00:00:52.970 --> 00:00:54.971
holding your hand out

00:00:54.972 --> 00:00:57.224
to somebody.

00:00:58.559 --> 00:01:00.686
[soft breath]

00:01:03.814 --> 00:01:05.648
[click, dial tone]

00:01:05.649 --> 00:01:08.819
[coin clinks,
touch tone]

00:01:09.361 --> 00:01:11.988
[out-going ring]
LISTENER 2: And then click.

00:01:11.989 --> 00:01:13.114
[click on other
end of the call]

00:01:13.115 --> 00:01:15.867
Someone says, ‘Hello, you’re
through to Switchboard,

00:01:15.868 --> 00:01:18.370
the LGBT plus helpline.
How can I help?’

00:01:19.329 --> 00:01:21.664
[faint traffic]

00:01:21.665 --> 00:01:24.000
The moment when you
hear someone,

00:01:24.001 --> 00:01:25.209
a silent call,

00:01:25.210 --> 00:01:27.670
and you hear that breath,
that apprehensive breath—

00:01:27.671 --> 00:01:29.381
[listener gasps]

00:01:30.966 --> 00:01:33.343
they’re still there.
They’re trying to talk to you.

00:01:41.518 --> 00:01:43.436
LISTENER 3:
You never knew

00:01:43.437 --> 00:01:46.481
what the caller was gonna be
when you picked up the phone.

00:01:48.650 --> 00:01:51.277
It could be anything
from something very

00:01:51.278 --> 00:01:52.612
simple

00:01:52.613 --> 00:01:54.156
to something very serious.

00:01:59.536 --> 00:02:02.205
It could be someone saying,
‘Hi, uh, I’m in London

00:02:02.206 --> 00:02:04.457
for the weekend. Do you know
where there’s any clubs

00:02:04.458 --> 00:02:06.292
and stuff that I can go to?’

00:02:06.293 --> 00:02:08.169
You know, ‘I’m looking for a
leather bar,’

00:02:08.170 --> 00:02:11.214
‘I’m looking for
a BDSM place.’

00:02:11.215 --> 00:02:13.174
[bar chatter]
[rotary phone rings]

00:02:13.175 --> 00:02:16.719
And then you can get another
call [click of receiver lifting]

00:02:16.720 --> 00:02:19.096
which could be from someone
that’s just found out that

00:02:19.097 --> 00:02:21.308
they’ve got HIV AIDS

00:02:22.184 --> 00:02:24.353
and they just don’t know
what to do.

00:02:25.395 --> 00:02:27.648
[phone rings]

00:02:28.398 --> 00:02:29.733
[click of receiver lifting]

00:02:30.609 --> 00:02:34.112
LISTENER 1:
Switchboard was by us, for us.

00:02:35.614 --> 00:02:38.950
[click]
LISTENER 2: It started in 1974,

00:02:38.951 --> 00:02:41.244
a year later it was 24 hours.

00:02:41.245 --> 00:02:43.704
[faint ringing of phones]

00:02:43.705 --> 00:02:46.040
LISTENER 1: Who was gonna take
that call, that’s, you know–

00:02:46.041 --> 00:02:47.625
‘Is it safe
for me to swallow cum?’

00:02:47.626 --> 00:02:49.669
Who’s gonna take that call?

00:02:49.670 --> 00:02:51.462
‘Where is the
clitoris, exactly?’

00:02:51.463 --> 00:02:52.505
Who’s [listener laughs]

00:02:52.506 --> 00:02:55.967
Who was gonna take that
call at that time, but us?

00:02:55.968 --> 00:02:57.970
[pen scratches on paper]

00:02:59.555 --> 00:03:00.930
[faint traffic,
low musical hum]

00:03:00.931 --> 00:03:03.599
Who is gonna understand
what it feels like

00:03:03.600 --> 00:03:07.144
to walk along the street
with your girlfriend

00:03:07.145 --> 00:03:10.106
with your hands so close that
you can almost,

00:03:10.107 --> 00:03:13.776
almost touch, but dare not?

00:03:13.777 --> 00:03:15.404
Who else was gonna
get that?

00:03:18.198 --> 00:03:20.742
[birds chirp, busy city traffic]

00:03:22.160 --> 00:03:24.412
[phone rings]

00:03:24.413 --> 00:03:25.955
[click of receiver]

00:03:25.956 --> 00:03:28.082
LISTENER 4: The person on the
other end of the line

00:03:28.083 --> 00:03:31.961
first of all said,
‘Can you hear me?’

00:03:31.962 --> 00:03:34.672
And I couldn’t initially

00:03:34.673 --> 00:03:39.302
and I think what I said was,
‘Can you speak up at all?’

00:03:39.303 --> 00:03:43.181
And the voice that came back to
me still in a whisper was,

00:03:43.182 --> 00:03:46.142
‘No, I’m in my garden shed…

00:03:46.143 --> 00:03:47.769
and I don’t want them
to hear me.’

00:03:49.730 --> 00:03:53.024
It was someone who
needed support,

00:03:53.025 --> 00:03:54.817
who was clearly at a—

00:03:54.818 --> 00:03:57.612
a very dark time
in their lives…

00:03:57.613 --> 00:04:03.492
This was a woman who was one
third of a throuple

00:04:03.493 --> 00:04:05.870
[faint indistinct phone
conversation in background]

00:04:05.871 --> 00:04:08.956
and had gone to her garden
shed to call Switchboard

00:04:08.957 --> 00:04:13.794
because, despite being in a
throuple, she was feeling

00:04:13.795 --> 00:04:16.797
the two other people within the
relationship

00:04:16.798 --> 00:04:18.466
were…

00:04:18.467 --> 00:04:20.343
alienating her.

00:04:20.344 --> 00:04:22.094
And…

00:04:22.095 --> 00:04:24.263
she was wondering whether…

00:04:24.264 --> 00:04:27.267
it was the right relationship
for her to be in.

00:04:28.810 --> 00:04:30.395
[light switch clicks]
[soft music]

00:04:32.689 --> 00:04:34.608
[train rumbles, horn blows]

00:04:38.278 --> 00:04:41.906
LISTENER 1: One of the calls
that I used to quite enjoy

00:04:41.907 --> 00:04:43.908
would be when someone was
preparing for someone

00:04:43.909 --> 00:04:46.369
to come over.
‘This woman’s coming over,

00:04:46.370 --> 00:04:49.539
she’s due here really soon
[quiet clatter of tableware]

00:04:49.540 --> 00:04:51.457
and I don’t know what to
do. [laughs]

00:04:51.458 --> 00:04:53.626
I don’t know what to do.’

00:04:53.627 --> 00:04:56.337
Some serious hand-holding is
needed but it has to be quick

00:04:56.338 --> 00:04:59.173
because you don’t know when
she’s likely to arrive.

00:04:59.174 --> 00:05:00.633
[toaster pops]
[fluttery music]

00:05:00.634 --> 00:05:03.219
I’m not a big believer in
staying calm while they—

00:05:03.220 --> 00:05:06.013
while the caller is in a state.

00:05:06.014 --> 00:05:07.682
If she’s in a state, I’m in a
state with her.

00:05:07.683 --> 00:05:10.017
But the difference is that
I’ve got a lot more experience

00:05:10.018 --> 00:05:11.936
to draw on and so I can

00:05:11.937 --> 00:05:15.440
help find a way through it.
[faint chatting on phone]

00:05:19.278 --> 00:05:20.695
LISTENER 2:
The word ‘switchboard’

00:05:20.696 --> 00:05:23.490
in itself means
a connector, doesn’t it?

00:05:25.367 --> 00:05:28.494
So historically, someone would
call up an operator

00:05:28.495 --> 00:05:30.705
and be connected to the person
that they really wanted to

00:05:30.706 --> 00:05:33.541
talk to.
[faint voices chatter]

00:05:33.542 --> 00:05:35.585
People call up Switchboard,
and hopefully we can

00:05:35.586 --> 00:05:39.130
connect them to the person
they really want to become

00:05:39.131 --> 00:05:40.549
or who they really are.

00:05:41.592 --> 00:05:43.510
[phone rings]

00:05:43.677 --> 00:05:46.053
LISTENER 3: When someone
answers that phone,

00:05:46.054 --> 00:05:48.472
they are a member of
the same community.

00:05:48.473 --> 00:05:51.268
They have a
shared understanding.

00:05:52.269 --> 00:05:55.313
You can hear the [sigh] on the
end of the phone.

00:05:55.314 --> 00:05:57.231
When someone says to me,

00:05:57.232 --> 00:06:00.985
[relieved] ‘Ah, right, okay,
I can talk to you.

00:06:00.986 --> 00:06:02.945
You understand who I am.’

00:06:02.946 --> 00:06:05.115
[faint voices of listeners,
mid-conversation]

00:06:05.824 --> 00:06:07.575
[clock ticks faintly]

00:06:07.576 --> 00:06:10.077
LISTENER 2: I remember a woman
caller who rang

00:06:10.078 --> 00:06:12.456
at the same time of year,
every year.

00:06:14.082 --> 00:06:20.296
She was in her 70s, maybe, and
she’d lost her partner.

00:06:20.297 --> 00:06:22.925
Her female partner had died,

00:06:23.842 --> 00:06:26.303
and no one knew they
were together.

00:06:27.012 --> 00:06:28.971
So when she died,

00:06:28.972 --> 00:06:32.099
the support that she had
for her grief

00:06:32.100 --> 00:06:33.809
would have been

00:06:33.810 --> 00:06:36.270
as if she was grieving
for a friend.

00:06:36.271 --> 00:06:39.566
And not to belittle that grief,
but this wasn’t a friend.

00:06:40.400 --> 00:06:43.194
This was her partner,
this was her lover,

00:06:43.195 --> 00:06:45.238
this was her life.

00:06:45.239 --> 00:06:47.866
[dialing rotary phone]

00:06:48.867 --> 00:06:51.661
And she would ring every year,
the same time

00:06:51.662 --> 00:06:54.038
to talk to the volunteer,

00:06:54.039 --> 00:06:56.541
to be who she really was,
to be out.

00:06:56.542 --> 00:06:58.668
[faint phone chatter]
She’d share memories of

00:06:58.669 --> 00:07:01.213
their life together.
She’d laugh, she’d cry,

00:07:02.673 --> 00:07:04.383
she’d grieve.

00:07:06.093 --> 00:07:08.010
When you share a memory,

00:07:08.011 --> 00:07:11.097
you relive it a little.

00:07:11.098 --> 00:07:13.516
And I think in sharing
those moments

00:07:13.517 --> 00:07:15.727
her partner was alive again.

00:07:17.312 --> 00:07:20.273
If we helped her live a little
longer with her lover,

00:07:20.274 --> 00:07:22.693
then that’s [chuckles]
that’s lovely I think.

00:07:25.279 --> 00:07:27.990
[faint murmurs]

00:07:28.657 --> 00:07:29.991
[phone cord stretches]

00:07:29.992 --> 00:07:31.535
LISTENER 3: When you’re
picking up the phone

00:07:32.619 --> 00:07:34.787
you could have someone’s life
in your hands

00:07:34.788 --> 00:07:37.457
at the other end of that call.

00:07:37.791 --> 00:07:40.334
So you have to have the
training, you have to have the

00:07:40.335 --> 00:07:43.754
understanding, but you have to
have the empathy,

00:07:43.755 --> 00:07:46.757
not sympathy,
but the empathy to know

00:07:46.758 --> 00:07:49.510
who that person is,
and what they’re going through.

00:07:49.511 --> 00:07:52.306
[faint voice,
pen scratching on paper]

00:07:52.848 --> 00:07:54.849
[sheep bleats faintly
in the distance]

00:07:54.850 --> 00:07:57.643
[faint sound of birds singing]

00:07:57.644 --> 00:08:00.479
[child chatters in another room]

00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:02.899
LISTENER 1: There was a series
of calls that I think will

00:08:02.900 --> 00:08:04.651
stay with me for the
rest of my life.

00:08:06.945 --> 00:08:10.281
They were from a woman who
was living a long, long way

00:08:10.282 --> 00:08:11.867
from London.

00:08:14.119 --> 00:08:15.953
She felt she was
attracted to women.

00:08:15.954 --> 00:08:18.581
She believed herself to be
a lesbian. She seemed…

00:08:18.582 --> 00:08:21.459
perfectly comfortable to use the
term ‘lesbian’ about herself.

00:08:21.460 --> 00:08:23.419
But she was in

00:08:23.420 --> 00:08:24.545
a…

00:08:24.546 --> 00:08:26.714
very abusive…

00:08:26.715 --> 00:08:27.882
marriage.

00:08:27.883 --> 00:08:29.050
[soft sounds of
folding fabric]

00:08:29.051 --> 00:08:32.053
And at first

00:08:32.054 --> 00:08:33.596
she just

00:08:33.597 --> 00:08:36.390
wanted to talk about

00:08:36.391 --> 00:08:39.352
what it meant to be a lesbian
and could she be a lesbian

00:08:39.353 --> 00:08:41.771
even though she was married.

00:08:41.772 --> 00:08:44.106
And of course, I assured her
that, absolutely, it’s about

00:08:44.107 --> 00:08:46.484
what you’re attracted to,
what you want to do

00:08:46.485 --> 00:08:48.402
rather than what you find
yourself actually doing

00:08:48.403 --> 00:08:51.114
in a particular moment in time.
[child chatters nearby]

00:08:55.285 --> 00:08:58.621
She would ring [dial tone]
fairly regularly.

00:08:58.622 --> 00:09:02.416
She got pregnant, [touch tone]
she had the baby.

00:09:02.417 --> 00:09:03.960
She told me

00:09:03.961 --> 00:09:09.173
really terrible stories about
how her husband had responded

00:09:09.174 --> 00:09:12.134
to the presence of the baby and
the changes in her body.

00:09:12.135 --> 00:09:14.263
CALLER:
Yeah.

00:09:15.430 --> 00:09:18.099
LISTENER:
And I went

00:09:18.100 --> 00:09:20.518
on that journey with her.

00:09:20.519 --> 00:09:21.936
CALLER:
I think so. Yeah probably…

00:09:21.937 --> 00:09:25.106
LISTENER: In between the calls
when I spoke to her,

00:09:25.107 --> 00:09:28.025
I couldn’t but weave

00:09:28.026 --> 00:09:31.071
alternative realities for her.

00:09:31.655 --> 00:09:35.950
Um, I literally would plan
things. I could pack bags

00:09:35.951 --> 00:09:38.494
in my head.
I was imagining what you do

00:09:38.495 --> 00:09:41.080
with two tiny children

00:09:41.081 --> 00:09:45.042
and few resources
and not many places to go.

00:09:45.043 --> 00:09:48.171
No, nowhere really to go.

00:09:48.172 --> 00:09:51.550
Yeah, I would bring all my
creativity to that.

00:09:54.803 --> 00:09:56.762
LISTENER 2:
The volunteer helps you imagine

00:09:56.763 --> 00:09:58.640
what could happen next.

00:09:59.641 --> 00:10:02.935
In dialing the number,
in reaching out in that way,

00:10:02.936 --> 00:10:05.271
you’re allowing yourself,

00:10:05.272 --> 00:10:07.523
maybe for the first time,

00:10:07.524 --> 00:10:09.151
to have a future.

00:10:11.570 --> 00:10:12.862
[soft sound of voices]

00:10:12.863 --> 00:10:15.198
LISTENER 1:
I believe that it is my job

00:10:15.199 --> 00:10:18.659
to be able to imagine
the best possible outcome

00:10:18.660 --> 00:10:20.578
for the people I speak
to on the phone.

00:10:20.579 --> 00:10:22.622
That’s why I joined.
I joined to see

00:10:22.623 --> 00:10:24.665
if we could make

00:10:24.666 --> 00:10:28.377
this imagined future reality,

00:10:28.378 --> 00:10:30.338
to smooth people’s path.
We…

00:10:30.339 --> 00:10:34.008
We are those sweepers in front
of the curling stone, you know?

00:10:34.009 --> 00:10:36.636
And sometimes all that is
is to help you choose the

00:10:36.637 --> 00:10:39.263
very best outfit for Pride.
You know?

00:10:39.264 --> 00:10:42.434
And other times, it’s about
making enormous life changes.

00:10:43.810 --> 00:10:45.521
[traffic hums]

00:10:47.272 --> 00:10:49.441
[distant car horn]

00:10:50.317 --> 00:10:52.068
LISTENER 2:
Evening calls,

00:10:52.069 --> 00:10:54.445
night shift calls,

00:10:54.446 --> 00:10:57.282
always are much more
reflective…

00:10:59.117 --> 00:11:03.079
And the way that we reach out
in the night is so different.

00:11:03.080 --> 00:11:05.623
It can somehow
feel more desperate…

00:11:05.624 --> 00:11:08.836
[street noise becomes calmer]
…more heavy, more sad.

00:11:09.753 --> 00:11:11.879
[ocean water laps]

00:11:11.880 --> 00:11:14.006
LISTENER 3:
One call that I had—

00:11:14.007 --> 00:11:15.967
it was 2 o’clock
in the morning,

00:11:15.968 --> 00:11:18.135
[ship horn blows]
and it was from the

00:11:18.136 --> 00:11:20.179
captain of a trawler

00:11:20.180 --> 00:11:23.349
who was off the Outer Hebrides.
[boat motor hums]

00:11:23.350 --> 00:11:26.477
His crew were out
pulling in the nets.

00:11:26.478 --> 00:11:29.480
And it was the only time that
he could actually get

00:11:29.481 --> 00:11:32.483
to talk to anyone because he
couldn’t come out in his

00:11:32.484 --> 00:11:34.068
own community.
[fog horn blows]

00:11:34.069 --> 00:11:37.406
It’s very restricted.
It’s very inward looking.

00:11:38.490 --> 00:11:41.576
And I was the first person
he’d spoken to…

00:11:41.577 --> 00:11:44.537
[seagulls squawk]
about his sexuality,

00:11:44.538 --> 00:11:47.123
and about being in the
situation he was.

00:11:47.124 --> 00:11:49.000
[faint hum of boat motor]

00:11:49.001 --> 00:11:52.170
He didn’t see any particular
way out of it.

00:11:52.171 --> 00:11:55.631
I don’t think he was looking
for a way out of it.

00:11:55.632 --> 00:11:59.051
I think he just wanted to be
able to talk to someone

00:11:59.052 --> 00:12:03.681
and not have that person
condemn or question who he was.

00:12:03.682 --> 00:12:06.142
I wonder what he did next.

00:12:06.143 --> 00:12:08.895
I wonder where he went.
[clicks from inside cabin]

00:12:08.896 --> 00:12:12.315
I just hope on that particular
call, for that particular time,

00:12:12.316 --> 00:12:13.524
[ocean waves]

00:12:13.525 --> 00:12:16.360
that he got some comfort to
talk to someone

00:12:16.361 --> 00:12:19.363
from our community
and be who he was.

00:12:19.364 --> 00:12:24.452
[ocean waves lapping]

00:12:24.453 --> 00:12:26.412
[faint shifting of feet,
clock ticking rapidly]

00:12:26.413 --> 00:12:29.082
LISTENER 2: One of the hardest
calls I’ve ever taken was

00:12:29.625 --> 00:12:31.083
from

00:12:31.084 --> 00:12:35.838
a trans guy who had been in
waiting lists for—

00:12:35.839 --> 00:12:39.342
for absolutely ages.
[pacing on soft carpet]

00:12:39.343 --> 00:12:40.801
And

00:12:40.802 --> 00:12:42.303
they were drowning,

00:12:42.304 --> 00:12:44.598
they were drowning in
their gender dysphoria,

00:12:46.141 --> 00:12:48.518
saying things like,
‘I can’t wait anymore.’

00:12:48.519 --> 00:12:51.270
‘You don’t know how this feels.’
[soft murmuring on phone]

00:12:51.271 --> 00:12:54.107
‘I don’t think I can
carry on like this.’

00:12:55.359 --> 00:12:56.901
[soft murmuring on phone]

00:12:56.902 --> 00:13:00.321
I heard a tone in that
caller’s voice

00:13:00.322 --> 00:13:03.324
that I don’t think left.

00:13:03.325 --> 00:13:04.993
I hope that I helped

00:13:05.827 --> 00:13:09.164
in the moment and maybe
for a bit after.

00:13:10.457 --> 00:13:12.500
But there wasn’t anything
that I could do.

00:13:12.501 --> 00:13:15.128
[quiet musical hum,
clock ticking, distant train]

00:13:16.463 --> 00:13:19.799
There’s a real part, a really
big part inside of you

00:13:19.800 --> 00:13:23.469
as a volunteer that is really
worried that that waiting list

00:13:23.470 --> 00:13:26.348
is one person too long

00:13:27.975 --> 00:13:30.936
and that something could
end up happening.

00:13:32.896 --> 00:13:35.064
[faint city sounds, siren]

00:13:35.065 --> 00:13:38.651
[rowdy singing in distance]

00:13:38.652 --> 00:13:40.069
LISTENER 3:
We did have people with

00:13:40.070 --> 00:13:41.905
full-blown AIDS phoning up

00:13:42.364 --> 00:13:45.783
and they’re in incredible
pain and discomfort.

00:13:45.784 --> 00:13:47.994
[off-hook phone tone]

00:13:47.995 --> 00:13:50.121
And they know they’re not
gonna get better.

00:13:50.122 --> 00:13:53.457
This is back at a time when
people pretty much knew

00:13:53.458 --> 00:13:55.085
they weren’t gonna get better.

00:13:57.087 --> 00:13:59.046
And they were decided to take
some pills and they were gonna

00:13:59.047 --> 00:14:01.049
finish it.

00:14:02.926 --> 00:14:05.845
You weren’t there to
persuade them not to.

00:14:05.846 --> 00:14:08.306
You’re there to listen to them
and reflect back on what

00:14:08.307 --> 00:14:10.808
they’re saying so that they
might then think,

00:14:10.809 --> 00:14:14.061
‘Well, maybe this isn’t the
right thing to do.’

00:14:14.062 --> 00:14:15.938
[somber music]
But on occasions they’d phone up

00:14:15.939 --> 00:14:18.858
after they’d taken it
and they weren’t gonna tell you

00:14:18.859 --> 00:14:21.777
where they were, they weren’t
gonna give you any information.

00:14:21.778 --> 00:14:23.947
They just wanted someone to
talk to while they died.

00:14:24.907 --> 00:14:26.115
[off-hook phone tone]

00:14:26.116 --> 00:14:28.242
And then you do that
metaphorical hand-holding

00:14:28.243 --> 00:14:29.702
until the phone goes silent

00:14:29.703 --> 00:14:32.872
[phone tone stops]
and they’ve gone.

00:14:32.873 --> 00:14:34.625
[quiet somber music]

00:14:36.210 --> 00:14:38.753
[emotional] And you have to put
the phone down

00:14:38.754 --> 00:14:40.963
and then you

00:14:40.964 --> 00:14:43.216
go and talk to another volunteer

00:14:43.217 --> 00:14:45.886
and usually
you have a good cry.

00:14:47.054 --> 00:14:49.931
[car revs in the distance,
leaves rustle softly]

00:14:49.932 --> 00:14:51.767
[faint sound of train rattling]

00:14:52.851 --> 00:14:55.187
[city sounds begin to awaken]

00:14:58.774 --> 00:15:01.527
[bustle of morning traffic,
birds sing]

00:15:05.822 --> 00:15:09.450
[soft music]

00:15:09.451 --> 00:15:11.702
LISTENER 1: Taking time to
make a bit of space,

00:15:11.703 --> 00:15:14.455
to look forward is
really important…

00:15:14.456 --> 00:15:16.958
because I think
what we focus on,

00:15:16.959 --> 00:15:19.794
we’re more likely to be
able to make happen.

00:15:19.795 --> 00:15:21.380
[taxi rumbles]

00:15:23.131 --> 00:15:24.298
[quiet murmurs]

00:15:24.299 --> 00:15:27.134
LISTENER 4: There’s a point
in some Switchboard calls

00:15:27.135 --> 00:15:29.470
where you can almost feel

00:15:29.471 --> 00:15:33.392
the weight lifting
from someone’s shoulders.

00:15:40.107 --> 00:15:43.693
LISTENER 3: It’s about opening
doors to people for them to see

00:15:43.694 --> 00:15:46.237
who they can be,
to see outside,

00:15:46.238 --> 00:15:49.699
to see that
possibility because—

00:15:49.700 --> 00:15:52.743
and that’s what our community is
about, it’s being who you are.

00:15:52.744 --> 00:15:54.453
[objects rustling]
And it’s about opening

00:15:54.454 --> 00:15:57.123
that door for people who are not
sure whether that door is

00:15:57.124 --> 00:15:58.500
actually there.

00:15:59.459 --> 00:16:01.670
[rustling of suitcase,
latch clicks shut]

00:16:02.588 --> 00:16:04.381
[quiet murmurs]

00:16:05.591 --> 00:16:08.426
LISTENER 4: Sometimes people
are surprised that in

00:16:08.427 --> 00:16:13.055
this day and age, there is still
so much need for

00:16:13.056 --> 00:16:14.933
a telephone help line.

00:16:16.226 --> 00:16:19.312
But there is something
very important

00:16:19.313 --> 00:16:22.398
about another human voice.

00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:24.318
[soft murmurs]

00:16:26.486 --> 00:16:28.196
LISTENER 2:
Recently, I took this call

00:16:28.197 --> 00:16:30.198
from a trans woman

00:16:30.199 --> 00:16:32.617
who just wanted to chat.

00:16:32.618 --> 00:16:34.577
She talked about herself,

00:16:34.578 --> 00:16:36.329
she talked about the things
that she did,

00:16:36.330 --> 00:16:38.581
the people that she met,
who was nice to her

00:16:38.582 --> 00:16:41.918
and who wasn’t, and who would
use the right pronouns

00:16:41.919 --> 00:16:44.504
and her right name.

00:16:44.505 --> 00:16:46.797
I think she just wanted

00:16:46.798 --> 00:16:49.801
to talk to someone,
to have a natter.

00:16:51.428 --> 00:16:54.305
She was her true self.
She was this amazing woman

00:16:54.306 --> 00:16:58.059
talking to me about her life,

00:16:58.060 --> 00:16:59.978
just being who she is.

00:17:03.357 --> 00:17:06.025
And if you listen,
you really really listen,

00:17:06.026 --> 00:17:08.153
you hear so much more.

00:17:09.363 --> 00:17:11.782
[creak of letterbox,
letter drops]

00:17:12.241 --> 00:17:14.825
The caller is going on a journey
and the volunteer joins them

00:17:14.826 --> 00:17:17.787
for part of that journey,
joins them in that dream.

00:17:17.788 --> 00:17:21.165
[hopeful music]
[faint rustling of envelope]

00:17:21.166 --> 00:17:24.962
I imagined them getting to the
top of the waiting list and,

00:17:26.463 --> 00:17:29.549
I remember saying that
to them on the phone:

00:17:29.550 --> 00:17:31.260
‘You will get there.’

00:17:35.264 --> 00:17:36.681
[receiver clicks]

00:17:36.682 --> 00:17:38.767
[shed door creaks]

00:17:39.935 --> 00:17:42.061
I think when you’re
a queer person,

00:17:42.062 --> 00:17:46.524
you have to rely on a queer
future that is optimistic.

00:17:46.525 --> 00:17:48.402
[sheets rustle,
faint birds singing outside]

00:17:48.902 --> 00:17:51.821
You reach out, the volunteer
answers

00:17:51.822 --> 00:17:53.364
and they say to you,

00:17:53.365 --> 00:17:55.200
‘This is possible.’

00:17:56.660 --> 00:17:59.328
‘You can dream, you can
imagine.’

00:17:59.329 --> 00:18:01.247
[footsteps, traffic hums]

00:18:01.248 --> 00:18:04.292
But more than all of those
things, you can live it.

00:18:04.293 --> 00:18:07.254
[tender piano music]