Choices App

With our free app you can easily find the help you need and contact the necessary authority or healthcare provider anonymously.

The Choices APP for treatment, tests and wellness

The Choices
Free Psychological Helpline and app

Choices toll-free psychological helpline for LGBTQI+ asylum seekers and status holders is free and puts you in touch with trained volunteers who can provide immediate support in your language, and connect you with needed help.

The toll-free helpline is available every day Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All volunteers speak multiple languages so we can understand your needs. Every day there is someone who speaks English or Dutch and another language such as Arabic, Farsi, Turkish, Ukrainian or Russian.

We make sure someone is always available to talk to you. If no Choices volunteer is unavailable, callers are transferred to COC LGBTQ+ Switchboard. COC Switchboard provides information and support to the LGBT community in the Netherlands. COC Switchboard volunteers are not trained to offer counseling. They can, however, talk to you, suggest various helpful services and help you make an appointment with Choices.

Call us toll-free on 0800 0333 from Monday to Friday 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
or scan the QR code to download the Choices app with the free helpline and call us at the touch of a button.

Our free app helps you get in touch anonymously with:
Free psychological helpline
Legal help
Appropriate addiction services
Testing and treatment sites for STD/HIV/HCV
STD/HIV self-test kits
Access to PrEP
Self-help groups
Mental health services

Choices Support Center thanks our Helpline donors and partners:

Download our app.

Download or scan the QR code for the multilingual Choices app and free psychological helpline download. Our app is available in both the App Store and the Google Play Store.

Calling the helpline

Calling the free psychological helpline is easy. First, we ask you to download the Choices for treatment testing and wellbeing app. You can do this by scanning the QR code we have below or clicking on the link. We have included the free helpline in our app to help everyone get in touch with a network of ´queer friendly´ services in the Netherlands. The Choices app is an online care network and available in English, Dutch and Arabic.

Once you open the Choices app, at the bottom of the home page you will see the button to call the helpline. When you press the button, the page appears with information about the helpline, including a link to our website where you can see our weekly schedule of volunteers with whom you will be connected. The schedule tells you which languages are available each day and at what time, morning or afternoon.

Our volunteers

Choices Support Center volunteers are all trained to answer a variety of calls. Our comprehensive one-day training includes counseling skills, emotional listening, conflict resolution, role-playing, asylum procedures, and additional training from the 113 organization on how to deal with possible suicide and severe psychological situations. Choices volunteers also receive clinical supervision and administrative support.

Upon written request, we are happy to share our training program and procedures. Choices' free psychological helpline operates according to helpline quality standards developed by Child Helpline International, Red Cross Crisis Call Centers and Red Cross Psychological First Aid Field Worker guidelines.

Helpline weekly schedule

Monday Helpline:

Herman (EN/NL)

My name is Herman, I live in Utrecht, together with my husband Ad. We have been married since 2001. I enjoy doing volunteer work, always for the benefit of the LGBTI+ community. For example, I worked at COC Cocktail and Switchboard, the GGD and now at Steunpunt Choices. At Choices I give information and advice and offer support and a listening ear. My motto: never lose hope, look forward to tomorrow, because everything will be better then. You can be there! I am on the helpline every Monday morning. EN/EN

Tuesday Helpline:

Peter Shoukry (AR/EN)

My name is Peter Shoukry, I was born in Cairo, Egypt where I earned a bachelor's degree in Applied Arts. I am gay and proud, and recently discovered that I am living with HIV. This made me decide to come to the Netherlands to seek protection. Being gay and living in Egypt with a Coptic Christian religious family in a homophobic society was extremely stressful, unsafe and insecure. I fought to move on and be myself. Now I volunteer at Choices where I can help people like me fight for a better life. You are the one who draws the path in your own life. At Choices, we support you to make more informed choices. Call me on Tuesday mornings 10 am - 1 pm. I speak English or Arabic. EN/AR.

Yehia (EN/AR)

My name is Yehia, I was born in Egypt and I am gay. For the past 29 years I have been living in fear and condemned by the homophobic Eastern religious culture that does not even acknowledge my existence. My own brother tried to kill me when he found out I am gay and that is why I am here. I have always wondered, how do we achieve our true purpose? We all have a unique purpose. Now that we are here, starting a new life in a new country, let's make Choices "choices. Let's stand up for ourselves and fight to achieve our goals. Call me on Tuesdays from 1:00 to 5:00 pm, if you need help with anything or even for a listening ear. I am here for you

Wednesday Helpline:

Seána (EN)

Hello, my name is Seána Brett (she/he). I am currently studying for my master's degree in Clinical Psychology at the UvA. Over the years, I have been very passionate about helping refugees, especially LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers. As a helpline volunteer at Choices Support Center, I am available to listen and help LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers with the struggles they are going through, and together find the strengths each has within them to get through whatever the day brings. You are not alone. You can call me any Wednesday afternoon EN/FR/IRL

Thursday Helpline:

Ivanessa (EN/NL)

My name is Ivanesa and I am originally from Bulgaria. I have lived in the Netherlands for over 3 years now and in addition to my 9 to 5 job, I work at Choices as a volunteer helpline. I joined the Choices initiative because I believe in the importance of making mental health care more accessible, especially for people in less fortunate circumstances. I enjoy offering a listening ear, unconditional support and appropriate guidance to anyone who needs help making healthier life choices and establishing a more fulfilling way of life. EN/BG/RU/NL

Friday Helpline:

Ertug (EN/TRK)

Hello, my name is Ertug. Like many of you, I emigrated to NL from a Muslim country, from a conservative and non-accepting social environment. It was not possible to be completely myself in my homeland; therefore, I moved. But when I moved here, I faced loneliness, isolation and discrimination. Today I am very grateful to have people around me who kept me motivated and resilient. I am available to call on Friday afternoons. I am a good listener and have psychological training. EN/TR

Volunteer

Choices welcomes anyone who would like to volunteer with us. We kindly ask you to fill out an application form on our website. Upon receipt of your application, we will see if you will be invited for an interview. Because answering helpline calls requires specific skills, not everyone who applies will be considered.

The application process is a two-step process. All potential volunteers are first interviewed by the director. After the first stage is completed, the selected person is interviewed and screened by our psychologist to ensure that this person is capable of answering the helpline. We want to make sure that all our volunteers are psychologically prepared and emotionally strong enough to talk to callers who are under great emotional stress and struggling with trauma, isolation and PTSD