Rural disabled/cPTSD gay man seeking appropriate support services

Hello,

I am a gay middle-aged man who is disabled and lives in a small rural community of about 100 people.

Due to my limitation, I can’t drive to a disability, health, or mental welfare support service easily. There is a bus to and from our community once a day, however this can be time limiting. Often, I can hitch a ride with someone else, but this can be rather revealing and embarrassing.

Rural communities can be great, but they’re very gossipy due to often there’s nothing else to do other than watch bad TV or get pissed. I don’t drink and reality TV just makes me puke. It can be lonely and isolating.

Rural community support can be great, but it’s conditional that you fit in the “normal’. LGBTQI+ is something that is viewed with distain or a joke in my experiences, only good for further gossip.

I have tried to access some online and phone services tailored to rural communities, however these can be very destructive. Often LGBTQI+ is viewed as “too difficult” or just simply refused. Almost none will mention LGBTQI+ in their supported audiences on their information or websites.

Many more urban based LGBTQI+ inclusive support services don’t have a concept of rural difficulties and can be a little dismissive or even patronising… “I’m a rural hick, so talk slow”. It is often hard for more urban support services to understand that simple things like getting milk and bread is a challenge and might require a long bicycle ride to fetch. Or living in a rural community is filled to the brim with people who own guns, and cPTSD can be triggered by incidental occurrences like a gun safe in the back of a ute.

While this place does offer some limited support, does anyone know of a phone service that is LGBTQI+ inclusive and has a rural challenges empathy?

Thank you for your acknowledgments?