Quebec crisis line for LGBTQ2S+ community at risk of losing evening service

An LGBTQ2S+ helpline in Quebec is on track to close its evening service next month due to a lack of funding, potentially impacting thousands of people.

The organization Interligne announced in mid-September that its nightly support and information service risked closing by Nov. 15 due to funding issues.

Speaking to CTV's Your Morning on Wednesday, Interligne talent acquisition specialist Marc-Olivier Guy said the helpline saves lives.

"If you wait until the middle of the night to reach out to a helpline, it's probably because there's something in the daytime that makes it that you can't do it," Guy said.

"So now, if we're only open during the day, we're not going to be there for thousands — tens of thousands — of people that won't get that life-changing support."

The helpline provides psychological support and crisis intervention to LGBTQ2S+ — lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, two spirit and other — people in need.

The organization says the evening helpline takes about one-third of Interligne's calls.

As many as 10,000 people use the evening service each year and the group has blamed "inaction" from the Quebec government for the helpline's potential end.

In an interview with The Canadian Press in September, the organization's executive director said it needs $300,000 from the Quebec government. The City of Montreal had previously agreed to fund the night service for a few years before it was lost.

Watch the full interview with Marc-Olivier Guy at the top of the article.

With files from The Canadian Press.