msm community by may 2014 when the operational research phase ends the founders hope to have reached out to 50000 community members the fact that they currently offer counselling only in hindi might restrict their reach but plans are on to expand to other languages in the months following the delhi high court landmark judgment of 2009 a majority of calls to these helplines were about dealing with everyday life as a gay man or woman as opposed to earlier when coming out was the primary problem we think this meant that there were more people getting comfortable with their sexuality chandran explains adding that after the december 11 verdict the helpline is now prepared for an influx of panicked calls reminiscent of the situation prior to the delhi high court judgment along with genuine phoneins counsellors are also used to handling prank calls or requests for hookups giani recalls phone calls from couples looking for a lesbian or people interested in casual sex we let them know that we cannot hook you up with people but we can introduce you to others from the community she explains for those who are not apprehensive about losing the anonymity that a phone conversation provides the ngos provide inperson counselling and interaction but whether callers choose to remain anonymous or engage with community spaces at a later date these services are a lifeline for those struggling with their sexuality chandran cites how recently a collegegoing boy nervous about coming out to his family had called in he was so wellconnected with his family in all other aspects of his life except this one says chandran sharing that in these instances unfolding in numerous homes across the country a phone helpline can become indispensable