As volunteers of CIG Arcigay Milano we design and promote various initiatives in support of the LGBTQIA+ community and beyond.

If you have an idea Write us

Pronto Helpline

Welcome, phone and social chat helpline

Looking for someone to listen, support or help? Do you need information related to the LGBTQIA+ world? Do you want to get out of isolation, but don't know where to start? Do you want to talk about coming out, relationships, your experiences?

 

You can talk to us. The volunteers of the CIG Arcigay Milano are available to the Milanese community through the Pronto helpline, which offers various channels of dialogue, from the historic Telefono Amico to the most recent Social Chat service.

 

Call us, write to us or come visit us on Sundays.

 

Choose whichever modality you prefer.

Welcome at headquarters

Every Sunday from 3:30p.m. to 7:30p.m., at our headquarters in Via Bezzecca, 3, Milan. Come by and let’s talk in person.

Telephone Helpline

Call 02 541 222 27, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m

Social Chat

Social Media Chat on Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct or, more anonymously, on Telegram. You can write to us every day from 9 am to midnight (here are the rules)

Mail Helpline

The organization also has a legal advice desk, managed by lawyers from the Court of Milan, to support victims of homo-transphobia and discrimination. Pronto can put you in touch with our legal team if you need it.   The service is by appointment only, in the afternoon of the second Friday of each month.

Education at school

Meetings and workshops for students, teachers, parents

If you are looking to organise a education session on topics such as sexual orientation, gender identity, homo-transphobia, bullying, stereotypes and respect for diversity, we can help. Since 1994, the CIG School Group has been organizing and carrying out free educational meetings and projects in elementary and middle schools in Milan and its province. In an informal atmosphere, students and teachers take on topics such as affectivity, discovery and self-acceptance and all the whatever other interests that can emerge from classroom discussion.

Read more

In the dossier of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) "Homophobia and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the EU Member States" it appears that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students can be victims of verbal and physical abuse in school and grow up learning to hide their natural inclinations. Discrimination can lead to abandonment and absenteeism, reducing the possibility of continuing to higher education, and also lead to social isolation and psychological distress. Precisely for this reason, we offer educational workshops modelled on the specific needs of students and teachers.

Contact us (scuola@arcigaymilano.org) for more information and to arrange a meeting. We also provide training events for companies and other organizations, to increase greater knowledge and education around these issues.

→  Follow the School Group's activities

Free testing and health info

Prevention culture, health care and support

Every last Sunday of the month, from 3:30p.m. to 6:30p.m., you can have free, fast and anonymous HIV and Syphilis tests at the headquarters of the organization, in via Bezzecca 3, thanks to our Health Section. Taking the HIV test regularly is a habit that should always be maintained, even when you are in a couple. If you have had unprotected sexual intercourse or have doubts about your serological status, come to our appointments to take the test. You can also find information material on sexually transmitted infections (STIs), on prep, and on sexual well-being, and you can get condoms. We also organize training and information sessions at venues attended by a LGBTQIA+ audiences.

 

Read more

For advice or help, do not hesitate to write to us via email salute@arcigaymilano.org or through our social media channels (Instagram - Facebook).

 

We are always happy to help!

Milano Checkpoint

Via Pergolesi 15, cit.17

 

Monday – PreP counter – 3:00p.m./8:00p.m.

 

Wednesday – Free HIV and Syphilis Tests – 4:00p.m./8:00p.m.

 

Thursday – PreP Desk – 3:00p.m./8:00p.m.

 

Reference Centre for Sexually Transmitted Diseases (Fondazione IRCCS CA’ Granda)

Via Pace 9, pavilion 3

 

Monday to Friday: 07.00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

 

Free HIV and Syphilis testing without doctor’s appointment or prescription, limited access

 

ATS Metropolitan City MILAN - MTS Outpatient Clinic

Viale Jenner 44

 

Monday to Friday from 8:15a.m. to 3:30p.m.

 

Free test with appointment by telephone, without doctor’s prescription

 

San Paolo Hospital

Via A. di Rudinì 8

 

Monday to Friday from 9:00a.m. to 11:00a.m.

 

Free test without doctor’s prescription

 

Ospedale Sacco

Via G.B. Grassi 74, pavilion 56, shuttle stop G, floor -1,

 

Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

 

Free test with direct access, you must bring your regional service card

 

Library and archive

A wealth of books, videos, research and consultation materials

Thanks to our library you can discover and learn more about the history of the LGBTQIA+ movement in Milan, Italy and beyond. In our archive - the Centro di Documentazione Omologie - we curate over six thousand books, magazines, comics and works, two hundred posters, several thousand flyers and postcards, as well as approximately one hundred university theses and more than two thousand videos and radio recordings. Over the years, materials have converged in the CIG from the lesbian archive Blu di Metilene (Milanese lesbian group), from the monthly gay magazine Babilonia, from the original archive of Lambda, the most famous of homosexual magazine of the 70s, from the archive of the CEDOM documentation center in Via Morigi in Milan, as well as from the collection of the scholar Gino Olivari. It is a unique and precious heritage of materials, an essential archive in the Italian and international library scene.

 

The loan of books and videos is free for members of the organization.

 

At the moment the Library is open only by appointment (biblioteca@arcigaymilano.org), for specific research or thesis assistance.

 

You can consult the entire catalogue on the OPAC circuit.

Psychological desk

Free appointments with counsellors

The counselling and psychological support desk is a counselling service managed by psychotherapists and counsellors who are experts in LGBTQIA+ issues. It is aimed at those who wish to address issues or difficulties related to sexual orientation and/or gender identity. The aim of the service is to offer a welcoming and non-judgmental listening and support space, and to promote full and serene personal development. The service is also open to family, friends and acquaintances of people from the LGBTQIA+ community.

 

There is an offer of 3 free appointments lasting about 50 minutes per person; the subsequent ones at a controlled price. For information and to book a meeting, write to serviziocounselling@arcigaymilano.org.

Youth Group

An inclusive space for those under 30

If you are between 16 and 28 years old, you can participate in the activities promoted by the Youth Group, a safe space in which to discuss and be yourself with pride. Sometimes it is difficult, especially when you have no reference points, to get to know the LGBTQIA+ community: we want to grow together by living the many experiences and opportunities that Milan and its hinterland offer us.

 

We strive to make our generation more informed in the struggle for minority rights and more aware of the various collectives within the community, thanks to an intersectional and feminist activism that enriches, and includes interrelated issues. At our meetings you will find a climate of respect and lack of judgment, which is the basis of everything. We welcome young people and teenagers from the entire LGBTQIA+ community, who can actively participate by bringing their own personal contribution with ideas and proposals. With the Group you will be able to socialize and discuss on an equal footing on current issues inside or outside our community, combining moments of training and opportunities for leisure.

 

The fixed appointment is on Saturday afternoon and is a great first step to get in touch with the varied rainbow world and the Cig Arcigay Milan: if you do not know where to start and you are asking yourself a lot of questions, do not hesitate to jump into this experience.

 

To know the calendar of activities or to have details on these initiatives follow the Youth Group on Instagram or send us a message, or keep an eye on the news section of our site. If you have any further questions you can also email us at giovani@arcigaymilano.org.

Milano Pride

An extraordinary festival of freedom

Milan Pride is one of the most heartfelt and attended political events in the city, an extraordinary festival of freedom made possible by the joint work of public institutions, associations and commercial organizations as well as the participation of thousands of people.

 

It is organized by the Pride Committee of the CIG Arcigay Milano in collaboration with the organizationss of the Rainbow Coordination. Milan Pride is also part of Onda Pride, the movement that unites all Italian Prides. It is held every June to commemorate the birth of the LGBTQIA+ rights movement in 1969 and to continue advancing the political and cultural demands of our community, with pride, determination, struggle, creativity and joy. Around the event there are a schedule of events, debates, workshops, reviews, political campaigns, concerts, shows that animate Milan for several weeks involving activists, experts, artists, local government representatives, teachers, sportspeople.

Milano Pride

Find out more on the Milan Pride website and on the event’s social channels (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter)

Edizioni passate

Guarda i video delle edizioni 2019, 2020 (edizione solo digitale causa COVID-19), 2021 e 2022. Puoi anche leggere il manifesto politico dell’edizione 2022.

If you want to become a volunteer of Milano Pride write to us at: volontari@milanopride.it.  

Cultural meetings

Every Wednesday night thoughts, stories, hopes

Every Wednesday evening from 8p.m. the headquarters in via Bezzecca 3 opens for the meetings promoted by the Culture Section of the organization. These meetings give space to stories, thoughts, hopes, debates and ideas and promote an active and constructive involvement towards Milan and its community. Film screenings, debates, dinners with friends, book and work presentations, meetings to share what is really inside us and what more than anything else characterizes us.

 

 

 

You can check the calendar of upcoming events here

Services for and with deaf people

LIS courses and projects to improve accessibility

We organize projects and awareness courses on LIS (Italian Sign Language) and the culture of deaf people, to overcome all forms of discrimination related to hearing impairment within and outside the LGBTQIA+ community. We also work to allow those who are deaf to be included as much as possible in the activities organized by the hearing people of the organization, starting with Pride, training courses and political and cultural initiatives, and make them protagonists of specific initiatives that are born within the Deaf LGBT+ Lombardy Group present at CIG Arcigay Milan.

 

If you want to participate in the activities of the Deaf Group write to us at: LGBT-SORDI@arcigaymilano.org. You can also visit this Facebook Group.

LGBTQIA+ migrants

A helpdesk to help and raise awareness

Through the IO Group we provide guidance, social support and help in requesting international protection for those who flee the country of origin because they are discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. If you find yourself in such a situation, write to us (in your native language if you want) here: progettoio@arcigaymilano.org or come and visit us when we meet on Wednesdays, between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. (write to us to know where: due to the COVID-19 pandemic at the moment we are not using the headquarters of the organization).

 

The helpdesk is aimed at LGBTQIA+ migrants but also at the entire Italian LGBTQIA+ community through awareness-raising activities on issues related to multiple discriminations. We try to give those who are migrants a context in which to compare experiences and begin to integrate into society.

 

You will find in the appointments promoted by the organization Italian language courses, meetings to raise awareness of the rights and duties of those residing in our country, debates to address the intersections between migratory paths, genders and sexual orientations.

Women’s Group Activities

Friendships, projects and intersectional issues

Every second and fourth Sunday of the month, the volunteers of the Women's Group organize cultural events, debates and live meetings to give voice to women and their infinite nuances, also dealing with intersectional issues. The group's activities include projection of short films, explorations or friendly chats that can lead to projects.

 

The initiatives are open to anyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation or gender identity. Find and follow the activities on Instagram and Facebook, or send us an email at: donna@arcigaymilano.org.

 

Assistance at work

Against the discrimination of workers

If you are experiencing discrimination at work that you feel is based on your orientation or gender identity, we can help. Send us an email (lavoro@arcigaymilano.org) or get in touch with Pronto, our listening and welcoming services.

 

Trade union officials and company managers are not always ready to deal in a professional and empathetic way with the problems of staff who may feel discriminated against, in particular if this attitude relates to a sensitive topic that is as little known as that of differences in sexual orientation or gender identity.