A helpline for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people is calling on the parents of LGBT children to avail of its support services.
The call comes as part of National Parents Week, which runs from September 19-25. The theme of this years' event is ‘It's OK to Ask' and as part of this, the LGBT Helpline is publishing a series of blogs for parents, which aim to help them to offer support to their children.
"Parents want the best for their children and want to be supportive of them, but may struggle to know how to respond if their child comes out to them as LGBT. We often get calls from parents who are concerned that they have said the wrong thing, or they may sense that their child is LGBT but are not sure how to talk to them about this.
"We want to get the message out to parents that ‘It's OK to Ask' for help if they need it, and they can contact us with any queries or worries in complete confidence," explained Paula Fagan, national coordinator of the LGBT Helpline.
The blogs will be written by parents, including psychologist, David Coleman, who specialises in working with children and their families, a lesbian mother of three and a transgender couple with over 40,000 YouTube views.
"We're hopeful that our guest blogs by well-known parents, including psychologist David Coleman, will offer support to parents around their children's sexuality or gender identity and start a conversation among parents about what has traditionally been a topic that many have avoided," Ms Fagan said.
The blogs will cover topics such as advice on how to offer support when a child comes out and the best time to talk to children and teenagers about sex and sexuality.
"While LGBT rights and values are widely respected throughout Ireland and huge progress has been made in recent years, parents may still have concerns or questions when their child comes out as LGBT, and we want them to know that we are here to support them, as well as supporting their children," Ms Fagan pointed out.
As part of this week, the LGBT Helpline will also be available at this year's National Ploughing Championships in Offaly from September 20-22. It will be exhibiting at Dunamaise and Nore at the Health and Wellness area. The stand will be located at block 3, row 30, Stand Number 741, Unit 28.
"We'd love to meet as many parents as possible at the Ploughing Championships and talk to them about the range of services we provide. We have support groups, our telephone helpline, an online instant messaging service, and lots of useful information on our website. We always received a great response at the Ploughing and we're looking forward to attending again this year," Ms Fagan said.
The LGBT Helpline can be contacted on 1890 929 539 at the following times:
-Monday to Wednesday from 6.30pm to 9pm
-Thursdays from 6.30pm to 10pm
-Fridays from 4pm to 9pm
-Saturdays and Sundays from 4pm to 6pm.