Shout 85258 hits half a million conversations milestone

Shout 85258 has taken more than half a million conversations with people from across the UK who are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, lonely, isolated, having relationship problems or struggling to cope and in need of support.

The free, confidential, text support service run by Mental Health Innovations was launched publicly in May 2019 as a legacy of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Heads Together mental health initiative.

Since then, we’ve grown our community of active volunteers to more than 2,200 empathetic and trained people, who are taking conversations round the clock.

Mental Health Innovations CEO Victoria Hornby, said: ‘I am so proud of everything that the Shout 85258 text service has achieved, taking more than 500,000 conversations with people in need of support across the UK. More than half of the people who text us tell us they didn’t feel they had anyone else to talk to, so having support a text message away is invaluable for many. At the end of each of those text messages, our empathetic Shout Volunteers have been there, listening, supporting and guiding people to a calmer place so that they can take the next steps to getting the support they deserve. We couldn’t have done this without them and we are grateful to every single one.’

In those 500,000 conversations, the most common issues which have emerged are suicide (34%), depression (34%), anxiety (32%), relationship (27%), loneliness (18%) and self-harm (15%).

Since the Coronavirus pandemic, Shout 85258 has had some of its busiest times, with daily conversation volumes reaching nearly 2,400 at our peak. During the most recent Government announcement about lockdown restrictions in England, almost 20% of conversations we took mentioned the word 'lockdown', as people were worried about being cut off from support networks.

With more than 86% of people who contact Shout telling us they found the service helpful, Shout Volunteers continue to provide incredible support to people across the UK.

If you’re struggling, you don’t have to face it alone. Text SHOUT to 85258 for free, confidential, 24/7 support.