THIS month, Hopeline will cease to operate.
The hotline is operated by Hopeline Philippines, a joint project between the Department of Health (DOH), the World Health Organization and the Natasha Gouldbourn Foundation. It was launched in September 2016. Although short-lived (less than three years), it is hoped that the suicide hotline service had rescued many Filipinos from actual suicides. However, there is no means of knowing that without a report on their call volume during its entire existence. Thus, it is hoped that Hopeline Philippines will share with this column its call statistics for historical recognition.
Hopeline’s end resulted from the passing into law on Feb. 12, 2018 of the Philippine Mental Health Act of 2018 (RA 11036). Thanks to several representatives who authored and sponsored House Bill No. 6452, Sen. Risa Hontiveros who sponsored Senate Bill No. 1354, and President Rodrigo Duterte for signing it into law a day before it could have passed automatically into law.
Sec. 21 of the Act requires the establishment of 24/7 “hotlines” to respond to suicide-related crises with “particular attention to the concerns of the youth.” Sec. 22 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations requires that the hotline be linked to local mental health care providers that are near the location of the caller.
Two months ago, the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) Crisis Hotline was launched with two hotlines: 0917-899-8727 (0917-899-USAP) and 0917-989-8727 (0917-989-USAP)—all of which are Globe mobile lines. These hotline numbers were published in the DOH press release last May 2. Thus, the NCMH is still in its third month of operations.
I called the “899” number while I was writing this article. In the first call, the line was dropped or failed to connect. In the second call, a male voice in Tagalog answered the call. When I called the “989: number, the female voice prompt came up: “The number you dialed is incorrect.” Perhaps the SIM for the 989 number has expired.
Consequently, for those who need to call this helpline, dial the 899 hotline and not the 989 number.
It is also recommended that the NCMH establish a call protocol that, at the onset of the call, the receiving hotline responder proactively asks if the caller prefers to talk in the caller’s dialect, especially if Tagalog cannot be well understood and spoken.
Frustration from language barrier can be highly stressful as well. It is a quality error to presume that all callers understand Tagalog.