Out and About - 'Support Groups'

The third Saturday of each month Village Hall, Church Road Flamstead Harpenden Herts AL3 8BW from 7.30pm to 11.30pm. Flamstead is just off the A5, near junction 9 of the M1, south of Luton. The meeting is not restricted to Beaumont Society members. All transgender people and their partners are welcome. The subscription for the evening is £3.00 per head, which includes a buffet, fruit drinks, tea and coffee, there will also be a raffle. For further details please contact Shirley Keel, telephone: 07956 242558 or email: shirley.keel@btinternet.com

The Belfast Butterfly Club is a support network for transgendered people and their families. By providing education and information, we seek to increase awareness, overcome discrimination and achieve equality.
The Club is a group of people who want to reach out to others who, like themselves, are transgendered.
The Club aims to provide a sympathetic ear to help others to come to terms with being a transvestite or a transsexual and to help their friends and family as well as the wider community understand what being transgendered means.
Founded in 1991, the Club has a sound track record of providing emotional and peer support to hundreds of people in Northern Ireland.
With the support of the Lloyds TSB Foundation the Belfast Butterfly Club operates a telephone helpline every Wednesday evening between 8pm and 10pm. A friendly voice is only a phone call away.
Open meetings are held in Belfast on the first and third Tuesday of the month when new members may come along and join in the activities.
Meetings are also held in Londonderry on the second and fourth Tuesday each month and for members only in Lisburn every Wednesday.

The Village Hall, (On B1192 from A1121), Langrick Road, Boston, PE20 3SW
'Boston Belles' is a local 'social support' group, holding monthly, meetings in Lincolnshire. The meetings are for chatting and relaxing, in a quiet venue and friendly atmosphere, rather than clubbing or 'intimate' liaisons. We aim to encourage the social interaction between members of the transgendered community, from the Boston area and its environs, together with, where applicable, their partners, by providing these social meetings in a safe anonymous environment, with suitably safe parking. We will also provide access, to the representatives of the transgendered community, who sit on the LGBTG, Rainbow forums and Boston Area Partnership Diversity & Equality Theme Group, and other groups to enable the views of this group and the transgendered, to be heard. All meetings will be held from 7:30 pm to 11:00 pm Every 2nd Friday of Each Month throughout the year Parking is available immediately outside of the venue. We do need YOUR support in this venture, so that we can continue to support YOU. Do come along and make new friends. Fe-mail- Belinda (belinda.wood99@btinternet.com) for details and directions. Event Link: http://www.boston-belles.co.uk/index.html

The Clare Project is a support and social group, based in Brighton, that aims to provide a safe and confidential place for people to explore issues surrounding their Gender identity. Whilst the group is mainly attended by transgender, transsexual and Gender Dysphoric people. We have deliberately aimed to be all-inclusive as we recognize the complexities surrounding the issue of Gender Identity. We welcome all people who wish to join us while we are all on our own personal journeys of discovery. We run a weekly drop-in, every Tuesday, at The Dorset Gardens Methodist Church, Dorset Gardens, Brighton, at which everyone is welcome, for an informal chat, tea and biscuits. These run from 4.0pm to 7.0pm, on the first Tuesday of each month, and from 2.30pm to 5.30pm on all other Tuesdays. Additionally, we hold social get-togethers, most evenings, at the Marlborough Hotel and bar, and, also, once a month we make our way out to a local restaurant for our ‘Posh Nosh evening.

Crosslynx is the Glasgow and West of Scotland’s support group for Transvestites, Transsexuals and Transgendered people, based in Glasgow city centre. We meet on the second Wednesday of every month and usually there is a specific topic such as advice on make up etc. Most of the time, though, it is an opportunity to be the `other you`, and to meet like - minded people, in a secure and caring environment. Crosslynx exists for the help and support of Transsexuals, Transvestites and Transgendered people. We hope to be able to offer advice on all aspects of being TV, TS or TG - from advice on make up through to speech therapy and deportment; also the possibility of introduction to sympathetic and understanding professionals who are active in our community. The important thing to remember is that there is always some one who is willing to listen to your problems and fears; and although we wouldnt claim to have all the answers, it’s possible that someone in the group has had a similar experience to your own. For us, the most important person is the one who comes along to the group for the first time, together with their fears and apprehensions. So don’t be afraid to ask for help or advice. Finally, can we point out that this is not a contact group, but there are social events planned for the forthcoming year. Hopefully we’ll see you at the next meeting !
All group meetings are held on the 2nd Wednesday of the month from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

The Edinburgh Trans Women Support Group, a group for pre and post op transsexuals, meets in the hub at the Edinburgh LGBT Centre for Health and Wellbeing. We launched in 2008 to provide support and social contact for male to female transsexual women, and our meetings are an opportunity to meet in a relaxed, friendly and safe environment for chat and support. We meet on the first Saturday of the month from 7.30pm to 9.00pm. We also meet at ‘T-Time’, an informal social for ALL transgender people, partners, family and friends on the third Saturday of the month from 1.00pm to 5.00pm, at the same venue, where there is on-street parking on Howe street and Heriot Row. We also arrange social activities such as visits to bars, restaurants, concerts and plan other activities according to members’ interests.

‘Gender Matters’ operates Sanctuary's in several towns in the West Midlands. Sanctuaries are discreet, confidential, supportive groups for trans people and their families/supporters. The groups are open in Wolverhampton every Thursday evening, Coventry on the first Wednesday of the month, Stoke-on-Trent on the third Thursday of the month, and several other locations All trans people are welcome, with particular emphasis on people who have not been to any other groups. If you are experienced, come and share your experience with new people. You will get help, advice and the support from people like yourselves. Come and feel comfortable as yourself. For the first meeting, you can come in drab if you prefer. A changing room is available for those that cannot come dressed. The meetings start at 19:30 until around 21:30, although you can arrive at 19:00 if you wish to dress before the meeting. Parking is available at all of the venues. We are also looking for volunteers to help run the groups or if you would like us to open a group near you (in the West Midlands and surrounding areas) then contact us via our website.

Shrewsbury Sanctuary http://www.gender-matters.org.uk/#/stokeontrent/4525375297
This regular TG meeting has been temporarily suspended, whilst seeking a new venue.
Stafford Sanctuary www.gender-matters.org.uk
This regular TG meeting has been temporarily suspended, whilst seeking a new venue.
Brumington Sanctuary http://www.gender-matters.org.uk/#/birmingham/4532123379
This is a new location, and is due to commence meetings in 2009 spring.
Lichfield Sanctuary http://www.gender-matters.org.uk/#/stokeontrent/4525375297
This is a new location, and is due to commence meetings in 2009 spring.

The Leicester Chameleons social and support group meets on the first Saturday evening of each month, from 7.0pm to 10.30pm, at a very discrete location on the outskirts of Leicester. All members of the TG community are welcome, including partners, to this smart, intimate, and friendly venue, which has private free parking outside, and offers changing facilities and a buffet inside.

The Manchester Concord is a very freindly social and self help group for Cross-dressers, Transvestites, Transsexuals and their wives or partners. The Group is based in Manchester, England and meets every Wednesday night, and has done so successfully for over 21 years. We are located in the Rembrandt Hotel on the corner of Sackville Street and Canal Street, city centre Manchester. If you are unable to arrive en femme, come in drab, and, if you wish, changing facilities are available. If you are travelling in to Manchester, there are a number of local tranny friendly hotels, including the Rembrandt itself, with very reasonable prices.

The Mayflower Club is a very active and outgoing club for transvestites, transsexuals, and their spouses or partners, based in Southampton. It holds meetings along the south coast, Hampshire, Dorset and inland into Berkshire. There are activities to suit most tastes, in various venues and we also run 'special events' such as meals out, balls, dances and discos. The club publishes a monthly magazine, which gives listings of all our events, and those further afield, plus interesting articles, letters and 'helpful hints'. The Mayflower Magazine's aim is to inform and entertain. Further details can be obtained from their main website - http://www.mayflower-club.org.uk/ , or by email from flyingladytv@hotmail.com .