Surat to launch message helpline for youth

Surat: Surat is all set to become first city in the country to have a dedicated 24x7 text messaging helpline to provide counselling to young people in distress, especially students who feel anxious before board examinations.
Vandrevala Foundation, a non-government organization, running crisis helpline with Gujarat Police under Suraksha Setu initiative to provide support to students appearing in examinations is holding talks with the US-based Crisis Text Line (CTL) to introduce text messaging hotline in the Diamond City by merging text data from WhatsApp and mobile phones.

Vandrevala Foundation’s executive director Dr Arun John told TOI, “We are in talks with CTL chief executive officer Nancy Lublin from New York for technology integration partnership and to explore in detail knowledge trader via content. Integration of technology, documentation of WhatsApp and text message and synchronizing the two telecom platforms is a challenge. The first round-the-clock hotline in Surat will help young people in distress. They will have to just text their problems to our counsellors.”

Launched in 2013, CTL is first round-the-clock hotline in the United States of America to provide its services solely over text messaging, and it's changing the game for helping young people in distress. Through word of mouth alone, as many as 350 teens and adults now tap out messages to trained volunteer counsellors on 741741 every day, and the data from those conversations is providing tantalizing possibilities on how to reach people even before a crisis starts.

Dr John added, “We aim to start the first round-the-clock text hotline in Surat and Gandhingar soon. This will change the game for helping young people in distress, who will have to just text their problems to our counsellors even before a crisis starts.”

Vandrevala Foundation had set up Gujarat’s first helpline in partnership with Gujarat Police in 2013 and it was christened ‘Jivan Aastha’ for the ease of Gujarati callers. On any given day, minimum 80 callers call up the hub but this increases to over 300 calls during examinations. Seeing tremendous response, a second hub was set up in Gandhinagar, again in association with Gujarat Police.