On June 25, Tuesday, Hopeline PH shared on their official Twitter account that the mental health hotline will cease its operations on July 1 due to the Department of Health and the National Center for Mental Health withdrawing their support.
Hopeline PH is a nationwide suicide prevention hotline that was developed by the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation and in 2016 the DOH-NCMH adopted the hotline as part of their campaign to help people with mental health problems.
It is still unsure why the DOH-NCMH withdrew from supporting Hopeline PH but it could be because they are setting up their own mental health and suicide prevention hotline. Rappler reported that the NCMH recently launched their own hotline in May. However, wouldn’t it be wiser to support both operations? We need all the help we could get, after all.
[ALSO READ: What Does It Cost to Be Mentally Ill in the Philippines?]
Due to the overwhelming support the hotline received after their statement, they reassured people that Hopeline PH will continue to operate even without the support of the DOH-NCMH. They thanked their supporters on Twitter and revealed that they have set up a GoGetFunding account so that they could continue with their operations.
As an initiative of Hopeline responders, we are sharing our gogetfunding account to help raise funds to continue our services especially our suicide prevention hotline. https://t.co/iFpq0SWdxf
— #SaveHopelinePH (@HopelinePH) June 25, 2019
In the meantime, Hopeline PH’s hotlines are still open 24/7. You can reach them through 804-4673, 09175584673 and 2919 (toll-free for Globe and TM subscribers).
[ALSO READ: Need some help? Here’s our directory for mental health hotlines, support groups, and more]
What else can we do to spread mental health awareness? Share your thoughts in the comments.
