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Hopeline PHL assures public: Suicide prevention hotlines operational 24/7
Hopeline Philippines has clarified that its hotlines are operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week — no lunchbreaks, no holidays, and no prescribed business hours.
#HopelinePhils HOPELINE's OFFICIAL STATEMENT July 2017 pic.twitter.com/n07hpRqDNs
— HopelinePhils (@HopelinePhils) July 13, 2017
The statement came at the heels of tweets that went viral this week concerning calls to suicide hotlines being turned away by crisis responders.
Twitter user @legendaroy shared that she was told that her call was outside business hours, while user @trizziabigail said that she called on Sunday and was asked to go to a hospital instead as the crisis responder was attending Mass.
Suicide hotline answered "sorry. Business hours are now closed."
— Ligia Daróy (@legendaroy) July 5, 2017
Good job philippines
They answered one sunday "Sorry nasa mass ako now ah pero may hospital dyan malapit"
— ABBY (@trizziabigail) July 6, 2017
"We would like to apologize for the shortcomings that may have given you an unpleasant experience with the hotline," Hopeline said in a statement issued on Twitter.
Hopeline clarified that the three numbers posted or retweeted by users are not official Hopeline numbers.
Callers may reach Hopeline through 0917 558 4673, (02) 804 4673, and toll-free number 2919 for Globe / Touch Mobile subscribers.
Hopeline is only capable of handling 12 calls at a time, with only three crisis responders every shift. If the line is busy, callers are encouraged to call after 15 to 20 minutes — the average duration for each phone crisis intervention.
"If you have difficulty reaching the aforementioned numbers, please bear with us. Our responders are engaged in a call. We are also upgrading our system, so you might experience some technical problems during your call," Hopeline stated.
Hopeline was launched in September 2016, an initiative by the Department of Health with the World Health Organization and Natasha Goulbourn Foundation. —Aya Tantiangco/ALG, GMA News
