Priority 1: Access

Our ambition

People in emotional crisis get timely, compassionate support when and where they need it, in a way that works for them.

Our challenge

Suicidal thoughts can affect people at any hour of the day or night. So we need to be here 24/7.

Right now, people cannot always access our support when they need it. We’ll focus on our telephone helpline and online chat, to make sure people with suicidal feelings and those in crisis can access our support quickly, every hour of every day.

How we will achieve this

• We’ll prioritise our compassionate listening services through our telephone helpline, online chat and Welsh language line – delivered by trained volunteers, informed by lived experience.
• We’ll scale up our online chat from evenings to 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Following the evaluation of the pilot we know that online chat helps people with suicidal thoughts get fast, compassionate support. Scale up will take a careful phased approach, so we can ensure quality, safeguarding and effectiveness every step of the way.
• We’ll close other services including email and letter writing services, school talks and other bespoke activities to prioritise offering a 24/7 service through our telephone helpline and extending our online chat opening hours.
• Working together with our volunteer leaders, we’ll make changes to how we operate so that we can always meet demand, including by offering more flexibility for volunteers and piloting further volunteering from home.
• We’ll work with our branches to understand how a network of fewer but larger branches will improve our ability to meet demand for our service. In the first three years of this strategy, we will work across Scotland and two regions in England to test and learn different approaches, creating a blueprint for how we can operate in the future.
• We’ll explore using technology to improve immediate access to our support for people who are actively suicidal, never compromising human connection.