The only specialist service visiting lonely older LGBTI Victorians is battling to survive after federal funding cuts announced on the eve of Christmas.

In late December, the federal government told LGBTI support service Switchboard that it would lose two-thirds of its funding under the Community Visitors Scheme (CVS). The CVS aims to reduce loneliness among those in residential or community-based aged care by funding visits from volunteers.

They are often the only visits that clients of the program receive.

The way the CVS funding was doled out to community groups was radically changed late last year, leading to angst, confusion, and, in some cases, fears of support gaps.

Switchboard is the only peer-based service in Victoria supporting older LGTBI Australians, a cohort deemed as a priority in the federal government’s own aged care diversity framework, which was released by the aged care minister, Ken Wyatt, in 2017.