William: text service will save lives
PRINCE William has issued a call for 3,000 volunteers to launch the UK’S first 24/7 mental health texting service.
The Duke of Cambridge said he wanted to use the UK’S “incredible national volunteer community” to link up trained home-based support with people suffering anything from suicidal thoughts to anxiety and loneliness.
He revealed that the Shout service had been quietly trialled over the past year, during which it had already helped 60,000 people.
Backed by the Royal Foundation, the joint charitable vehicle for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the system has enlisted about 1,000 volunteers, but aims for 4,000 by the end of the year.
It is modelled on Crisis Text Line, which since being established in the US in 2013 has processed more than 100 million messages and been credalso ited with saving countless lives. Announcing the initiative alongside the Duchess of Cambridge at Kensington Palace, the Duke said it would make a “huge difference to people’s lives”.
“As texting is private and silent it opens up a whole new way to find support,” he said. “You can have a conversation anywhere any time – at school, on the bus, anywhere.
“I am incredibly excited to be launching this service, knowing it has the potential to reach thousands of vulnerable people every day.”
He told how “Harry, Meghan, Katherine and I” had been closely involved with developing Shout in the past year.
The project is the first joint initiative since Meghan joined the Royal family last year, and yesterday’s announcement the first since the couples formally separated their households amid rumours of contrasting working styles.
The Duke said the service was a “tangible” legacy of the Heads Together charity, which was launched in 2016.