Kate and Wills to rescue for suicidal boy, 12
THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have comforted a 12-year- old boy who was on the verge of taking his life before he was helped by their textmessage crisis service.
William and Kate spoke to the anonymous youngster and his family this week to highlight how their free Shout 85258 round-the- clock messaging service talked him back from the brink.
They were told he already suffered from high levels of anxiety and poor mental health, which were exacerbated by the pandemic and missing school.
His father told the couple that things became so bad there was no doubt in their minds that their son’s ‘life was saved’ the night he decided to seek help. Speaking on Zoom, he added: ‘He’s a little boy that always asked big questions. Since lockdown he didn’t just worry about when we were getting back to school, but also the future of the planet and really big things.
‘He went from being a little boy at school where teachers were there, then suddenly it was all flooding in on a laptop and he had to navigate that.
‘Even though we were there it was all very overwhelming. It was a collision of that and puberty, I think.’
The boy’s mother explained that on the night in question their son went off by himself for a while – and apparently headed to a bridge to take his own life.
She explained: ‘He said he would take his phone and... I thought it was a little unusual.
It was all premeditated. He knew where he was going and when he was on the bridge he’d been texting all day to Shout, so this had been going and we didn’t know.
‘They obviously helped him while he was on the bridge.’
The royal couple helped launch Shout 85258 in 2019, investing £2million in the free, confidential service from their Royal Foundation. Last June, Prince William revealed he had been answering texts to Shout as a volunteer after being trained to help.
He told the boy’s parents: ‘Katherine and I are just so thrilled that the service is doing exactly what we hoped, which is be there for families in crisis.
‘It’s nice to be able to speak to you guys and hear about what’s gone on here, how it’s helped you and really what it’s done.
‘It’s the shock, isn’t it, of the vulnerability of it all?
‘It’s kind of suddenly come out of nowhere, really. We also try and manage everything we do as parents. You think to yourself, “Where has this come from?”.’
The father replied: ‘We know what’s going on – but the moment of realisation that we didn’t know was massively sobering and really challenging.
‘We have no doubt that what happened between Shout when he was stood on that bridge was enough to save his life.
‘The conversation Shout had with our son was pivotal in him not doing anything that he would regret later. That is amazing.’
Kate said: ‘I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare.’
The boy told the royal couple that he had heard about Shout 85258 from a friend and had used it ‘a couple of times’ before.
When William asked, ‘Did you find chatting on text easier to talk about things you might find difficult to say?’, the youngster replied: ‘Definitely.’
‘Every parent’s worst nightmare’