From Monday 7th October, we will be reducing our helpline opening hours to 1pm-8:30pm on weekdays, instead of 9am-9pm on weekdays.

We have made this decision so that we can continue to support our community to the best of our ability through this difficult and uncertain time.

The ongoing Charity Commission inquiry, which was opened almost two years ago, has left Mermaids’ future as an organisation more uncertain than ever.

This process has come at a great cost. We’ve already been forced to make other difficult decisions about our staff team and the ways that we work, pausing vital projects and plans.

But the decision to reduce our helpline hours is a practical one, as well as a financial one.

We hope that reducing our helpline hours will improve our service by allowing us to be there for the people who need us most, when they need us most.

We consulted with our Youth Advisory Panel (YAP), a group of young people who help us consider the needs of trans youth in every decision we make, on how the helpline could be the best service possible for trans youth and their loved ones, even through this critical period.

We also thoroughly reviewed our call and webchat traffic, and shared our findings with YAP. This revealed that most people contact our helpline during the early afternoon and evenings, and this is also when we experience the greatest number of missed calls and webchats.

So while we will be open for less hours, we hope that we will be able to pick up the phone to more people in need.

Thank you for supporting us through this exceptionally difficult time. It’s because of you that we are still here. If you are able to donate today, you can do so via the link in our bio.

If you need of support outside our our opening hours, please consider contacting one of the following helplines:

Samaritans: Call 116 123

Childline: Call 0800 1111 – Childline is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 18 and under.

Switchboard LGBT+: Call 0800 0119 100. A safe space for anyone to discuss anything, including sexuality, gender identity, sexual health and emotional well-being. Open 10:00-22:00 every day, 365 days a year.