SOS launches 24-hour WhatsApp service to assist individuals in misery

SINGAPORE: Suicide is the main reason behind dying for younger individuals aged between 10 and 29 in Singapore. Final yr, 378 individuals took their very own lives – practically a 3rd had been in that age group.

This is likely one of the causes the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) has arrange a 24-hour WhatsApp service to assist these in misery.

Individuals who need assistance can textual content 9151 1767 for help by way of CareText, or name 1767 to achieve the hotline.

Formally launched on Saturday (Sep 10), the service, referred to as CareText, is manned by SOS’ educated volunteers and workers.

First piloted in July 2020 on restricted hours, it widened its protection to run 24/7 in January this yr for a trial, earlier than the official launch.

Throughout a survey in 2020, some youths informed SOS that there was a scarcity of appropriate and trusted avenues for them to show to, mentioned Mr Phua Chun Yat, SOS’ chief working officer.

“We thought (texting) could be a great platform to achieve out to youths and attempt to cut back the limitations of assist in search of, particularly at a time the place I believe there was plenty of uncertainty, individuals had been beginning to keep at dwelling due to the pandemic,” he defined.

Final month, SOS answered virtually 1,800 chats – practically triple the variety of chats acquired in August 2021. In the course of the trial, the non-profit organisation discovered that about 82 per cent of the individuals who messaged had been aged 29 and beneath.

HOW IT WORKS

These utilizing CareText stay nameless all through the textual content dialog and the volunteer or workers member can’t see the telephone numbers.

When an individual accesses CareText, they are going to be first requested primary questions, equivalent to gender, age group and their misery degree.

“These questions … assist us form of know who we’re speaking to,” defined Mr John Lam, senior supervisor of disaster help at SOS.

“After that, they’re engaged by our educated volunteers and workers. We’re utilizing the identical methodology that we’re utilizing for the hotline, however tailored for texting.

“Our volunteers practise energetic listening. It’s essential we take heed to their issues – the ache factors.

“We do settle for there are suicide dangers, and we do ask them if they’re considering suicide. The dialog can go so long as they need. The target is to de-escalate the disaster they’re going through at that cut-off date.”

There are at present about 100 CareText volunteers and all of them have undergone about six months of coaching.

These volunteers must be taught to grasp every texter, replicate again on what they are saying and the feelings they’re going by.

Texts are available in all through the day and peak from 4pm to 2am, Mr Lam mentioned. Often textual content chats last more than telephone calls, a service which SOS gives by way of a suicide prevention hotline. Some textual content correspondence can go on for greater than an hour.