In April 2022, Lothian Health Services Archive (LHSA) launched a new project, ‘Speaking Out’, which involves cataloguing and promoting the archives of the Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard. Opened on 2 March 1974 as the UK’s first gay helpline and Scotland’s first gay charity, Switchboard was a key source of support to LGBT+ people across Scotland and the UK, campaigning and advising on sexual health, mental health, and equality issues, as well as working with the NHS and Scottish Government in health education and social and economic research.

This series of short videos records the series of creative writing and zine making workshops, where participants discussed and created new works in response to the LGBT+ experiences reflected in the Switchboard archive.

 

Speaking Out – Promo

 

Click here to view ‘Speaking Out – Promo’ directly on Media Hopper Create

 

Speaking Out – Protest

Click here to view or download ‘Speaking Out – Protest’ directly on Media Hopper Create

Speaking Out – Safe Space

Click here to view or download ‘Speaking Out – Safe Space’ directly on Media Hopper Create 

 

Speaking Out – Animals

Click here to view or download ‘Speaking Out – Animals’ directly on Media Hopper Create 

 

 

 

Header Image: The ‘Take Care’ Bus, from the Lothian Health Services Archive (Flickr), CC BY-NC-SA