Welcome to Icebreakers

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• What is Icebreakers?
• Who is the Group For?
• Icebreakers' Code of Ethics
• What Happens at an Icebreakers Meeting?
• Icebreakers Events
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What is Icebreakers?

Welcome to Icebreakers – a support group in Manchester that helps gay and bisexual men both come out and make new friends.

Essentially, Icebreakers is a self-help group. Our members establish social networks through the group and often make lifelong friendships. We’ve been here since 1987 and thousands of men have used the group.

We must be getting something right!

The group holds meetings every Wednesday at 8pm at Princess House on Princess Street, and has occasional social events too.

We hope that after you have been coming for some time, you will develop new friendships and a social network. Members usually leave once they have done that, because their main reason for attending Icebreakers no longer exists. Once that happens, we feel that we have done our job!

You can e-mail the group at icebreakersfromlgf@hotmail.com.

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Who is the Group For?

We are here to help gay and bisexual men:

• Who are “coming out” – who are accepting their sexuality and who might be in need of support through what can be a difficult time
• Who have recently moved to the Manchester area and want to find friends
• Who are feeling isolated for another reason

Our volunteers are trained and your confidentiality is assured at all times.

Icebreakers is for men who live as men and who are aged 18 and over.

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Icebreakers' Code of Ethics

Below is a copy of the Icebreakers code of ethics which all Icebreakers volunteers and staff are required to adhere to.

1. We should not discriminate against anyone who fulfils the criteria to be members of Icebreakers.
2. We should not accept personal mail or gifts from service users.
3. We should not give out our surnames to Icebreakers service users.
4. We should not give our telephone number of address to any service users.
5. We should try to maintain professional distance with service users.
6. We should not give lifts nor accept lifts to or from Icebreakers service users unless there is a non-client with us.
7. We should respect the confidentiality of service users, although information will be shared within the volunteer-base.
8. We should not tell service users what to do; we should encourage them to explore issues and alternatives but let them make their own decisions.
9. We should not interfere with service users' relationships. However, it is part of our role to protect vulnerable people while they are in attendence at Icebreakers.
10. We should try to avoid allowing ourselves to be alone with a service user.
11. Icebreakers volunteers are not allowed to have a relationship with a service user for all the time that the user attends Icebreakers and for some time afterwards.
12. If any of these codes are broken the volunteer should ensure that the other volunteers are told as soon as possible, so that the group can discuss if any action is necessary.
13. If a volunteer has had a relationship with an individual who then becomes a client, this information should be disclosed to the other volunteers, or at least the chair of the group.
14. We should be punctual.
15. We should look after ourselves... and each other.

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What Happens at an Icebreakers Meeting?

Icebreakers holds meetings every Wednesday at 8pm at Princess House, 105 - 107 Princess Street, Manchester M1 6DD. Members drink tea and coffee and chat in an informal and safe setting. There are usually four trained volunteers on duty. Many of them came out through Icebreakers themselves. If you’re new, a volunteer will have a one-to-one chat with you and tell you all about the group.

The volunteers are always on hand to create a relaxed atmosphere and answer any questions about gay life, what's going on in Manchester, and the other services available through organisations like the Lesbian and Gay Foundation. Magazines and books are available and you can also borrow videos about coming out and safer sex.

Occasionally, meetings will include presentations about topics such as coming out, safer sex or dating.

In some ways, what you get out of Icebreakers is up to you. As well as being a support group, it’s a self-help group. But there is always a chance that you might not enjoy your first night. You might find yourself feeling nervous, for instance, or sitting next to someone with whom you don’t share any common interest. If that happens, please persevere and give us another go.

Meetings end at around 9.30pm, when most members and volunteers go to one of the gay pubs in the Village – the area of the city dominated by gay bars and businesses. The group always starts at Taurus on Canal Street. Often, past members go to Taurus too.

But Icebreakers isn’t just about Wednesday night meetings. It also arranges other events.

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Icebreakers Events

Icebreakers volunteers always try to organise one or two extra events every month. It might be a pub crawl, a theatre visit, a film night or a walk.

Coming Soon

Events Information will be listed here shortly.

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