Gay And Lesbian Community Services

GLCS has been providing support, information and resources to the West Australian gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community for almost 35 years.

We are the longest running organisation of our kind in the Southern Hemisphere.

As WA’s main community based GLBT service provider our main focus is on providing essential services to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities, including our peer counselling phone line and social support groups. We also offer a number of training options for the general community, ranging from one-hour personal perspectives talks to half- and full-day workplace training in diverse sexuality and gender. We also have a successful history of running funded projects, often in partnership with other community groups.

Mission
Gay and Lesbian Community Services of WA (Inc.) is a non-profit organisation which aims to promote the wellbeing of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, queer and other sexuality, sex and gender diverse people in Western Australia.

Brief History
GLCS was established in 1974 as the Homosexual Counselling and Information Service of WA. In 1984 the name was changed to the Gay Counselling Service of WA and the organisation became an incorporated body. In keeping with worldwide trends to recognise the contribution and needs of women in the community, the name of the service was changed in 1990 to the Gay and Lesbian Counselling Service of WA (Inc). In 1999 the name was changed again to the Gay and Lesbian Community Services of WA (Inc) to reflect the wider range of services that GLCS provides. We are the oldest service of our kind in the Southern Hemisphere.

Funding
GLCS receives some funding from the Health Department of WA. While this money is much appreciated and essential, it covers only our basic costs. Our ability to provide our essential services is dependent on the efforts of our volunteers and additional income from financial memberships, donations and fundraising.