Calgary Distress Centre expands text crisis line as suicide calls up
Posted Sep 10, 2021 7:48 am.
CALGARY – More Calgarians have been reaching out to the Distress Centre about thoughts of suicide.
The organization says there has been a 34 per cent increase this year compared to last through all of its outreach lines.
The Distress Centre has had a text line for teens for some time and now it’s being expanded so that anyone can text the centre.
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Mike Velthuis Keroeze, interim director of programs at the Distress Centre, says a lot of people feel more comfortable with chatting online or texting as compared to calling on the phone.
“We definitely see that the vast majority of contacts coming in either through online chat or through text,” he said.
“Making a phone call, especially a phone call when they’re feeling emotionally distressed or even suicidal, really making that call there’s just so much more anxiety-producing for them.”
Since January, suicide has been the third top issue on their crisis lines, according to the centre.
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Keroeze hopes that the expanded text line will mean more people are getting the help they need.
“We’re gonna be able to connect with more people in a community that might be having those thoughts of suicide and don’t really know where to turn.”
The texting service runs from 3 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weekdays and 12 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weekends.
The number is 403-266-4357, which is also the 24-hour phone line.
