Someone to chat with when life feels difficult

Since 2010, it has been possible to talk with Kirkens SOS through chat. In collaboration with the Kavli Trust, Kirkens SOS now has the opportunity to strengthen the chat service over the next four years.

The chat is a written form of dialogue via the internet. Through it, Kirkens SOS reaches young people. Many young people need someone to talk to when life feels difficult — far more than Kirkens SOS has previously had the capacity to receive.

“On a bad day, I can write to you just so that someone will tell me not to take my own life. It helps that someone wants me to live — then I can hold on a little longer.”
– Feedback from a user of SOS Chat

Reaching the young

One of the most important lessons from the start of the chat service is that it reaches people between the ages of 15 and 30.

“The writers are significantly younger than those calling the SOS phone line. In addition, we find that the seriousness of the conversations on chat is very high. Topics that come up include self-harm, eating disorders, loneliness, bullying, various forms of abuse, and challenges related to coping with life. More than 50 percent of the conversations involve suicide,” says Lene Hopland Bergset, project manager for SOS Chat.

The country’s largest crisis service

Kirkens SOS is Norway’s largest 24-hour crisis service. Each year, it responds to nearly 200,000 inquiries from people in emotional and existential distress. Kirkens SOS offers three services: the SOS phone line, message service, and chat. The phone and message services are available 24 hours a day, every day. The long-term goal is for the same to apply to the chat service.

To achieve this, more volunteers are needed. The training of new volunteers will also be strengthened. Relevant informational material will be produced, and various communication initiatives will be implemented to make the service better known. Visibility is essential for Kirkens SOS to recruit more volunteers for the chat and to ensure that more young people who need someone to talk to know about SOS Chat.

1,000 fellow human beings

Nearly 1,000 volunteers operate the services of Kirkens SOS. The volunteers are not therapists or doctors, but ordinary people who care and spend their free time being there for others. This shapes the encounter in a special way — creating a unique and genuine sense of presence.