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Why there's sometimes a wait when you text Shout

Information on waiting times for Shout

Shout is a free, 24/7 text messaging mental health support service for anyone in the UK who is struggling to cope. Our service is run by a charity, Mental Health Innovations, who fundraise so that they can cover the cost of running the Shout service and keeping the service free for children, young people and adults to use, at all hours of the day and night, seven days a week. Every single day we take around 2,000 conversations with people who need support with their mental health.

Shout is a free service and waiting times vary according to a number of different factors. The volunteer-led service is busiest in the evening and night time, from 6pm to 6am and you might have to wait longer for a Shout Volunteer to be able to take your conversation. This is because other support services are often closed and unavailable out of office hours, meaning that demand for Shout increases at this time.

The service is also busier on particular days of the week. For example, there tends to be more demand on Sunday evenings. We are a volunteer-led service, so at these times, higher demand for Shout can mean you might have to wait for a longer time, as we depend on the availability of our volunteers, who give up their time freely, in order to be able to help others.

The length of time that you have to wait to be connected with a Shout Volunteer can also be affected by unpredictable issues, such as if Shout is mentioned on the news, on social media, or in a campaign. The extra awareness this creates often leads to more people contacting the service, so wait times increase.

While waiting to be connected to a Shout Volunteer, you will receive automated messages at regular intervals so that you know that we’re on our way. We’ll also share a link to our online resources, which are tailored to different feelings and situations such as anxiety, self-harm and bullying, which might be of help in the meantime. These include a variety of coping strategies and self-care tips, such as Shout’s Little Book of Coping Skills.

We’d like to reassure you that, although you might have to wait for our free service, we are committed to answering every conversation as soon as we can and a Shout Volunteer will be with you soon as they are able.