Hotline Centre
The Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong established its Fixed Line Emotional Support Service in 1960, which is the first service of the organisation to provide suicide prevention service through answering calls of help seekers. Later, in 1995 the Hotline Centre was officially established with the support from the Hong Kong Housing Authority by providing a venue in Choi Hung Estate. The Centre services include our 24-Hour Emotional Support Hotline, Volunteer Recruitment & Training, as well as Community Seminars and Activity.
24-Hour Emotional Support Hotline
The 24-Hour Emotional Support Hotline is developed from the Life Hotline, which was first established by a group of passionate volunteers in 1960, The service is provided to those who are hopeless, distressed or having suicide intention. Our volunteers are willing to listen, care, and walk with the help-seekers to face their problems and finally their emotional distress can be released. By doing so, they can regain their hope for the future and the confidence in facing the challenges ahead.
Letters and E-mails for Help
We understand that under certain circumstances, it may be inconvenient for everyone to directly call our emotional support hotline for help; we also provide letters and emails for help. Anyone who has emotional distress can receive emotional support through the following channels.
Mailing address: Units 126-127, Kam Wah House, Choi Hung Estate, Kowloon (To Samaritan)
Email address: touch@sbhk.org.hk (To Samaritan)
Face-to-face Interview with Hotline Centre Volunteers
Anyone who has emotional distress and wishes to have a face-to-face interview with a Hotline Centre volunteer can make an appointment for an interview. Please call 2790 8844 to make an appointment with the Hotline Centre staff 2 working days in advance.
Interview address:
Units 126-127, Kam Wah House, Choi Hung Estate, Kowloon
Service hours:
– Monday to Friday 9:00-21:00;
– Saturday 9:00–16:00;
– Closed on Sundays and public holidays;
– Lunch 13:00-14:00; Dinner 18:00-19:00
Emotional Support Volunteer Recruitment and Training
When the organisation was founded in 1960, it was composed of a group of passionate volunteers. The hotline consisted of many volunteers listening to the calls of helpers. Although there was a lack of professional talents, they were all volunteers who were eager to help people. Thanks to the passionate and dedicated volunteers, they act as good listeners and befriender to listen to every call made by the help seekers. These volunteers try to understand their difficulties, ease their distress and walk with those who are in darkness.
Most of our hotline volunteers are not professional social workers, counsellors, clinical psychologists, nor psychiatrists. They are just ordinary people in the community who are willing to help others. There are about 224 volunteer members in our centre. Many of them have served for over 10 or even 20 years. Some have even reached over 40 years of service. The spirit of dedication and serving the community is one of the most valuable assets in a volunteer agency.
In order to enhance the service quality, the Hotline Centre is committed to provide different kinds of training for our volunteers to enhance their professional knowledge and ability to help others.
More details: Click Here
Community Seminar and Activity
Out hotline Centre is committed to promoting suicide prevention messages to the public by organising various types of community seminars and activities to raise public awareness and concern about suicide prevention and emotional health. Community seminars included The Emotional Health of the Elderly, the Fallacy of Suicide, etc., There were some sharing seminars as well with other organisations including Basic Suicide Crisis Assessment. Community activities such as street counters were also set up for the purpose of community education.