Lifeline Ukraine recently marked its second anniversary. At 18:00 on 14 October 2019, the telephone number 7333 went live. Since then, Ukraine’s national suicide prevention hotline has been working around the clock, every day, without pause. People have turned to Lifeline Ukraine more than 16,000 times for support since it began operations.
A national suicide prevention hotline is a normal and standard thing in most countries. In the UK and Israel, for example, national hotlines have operated for almost 50 years. In my home country of Ireland, it is nearly 60 years since the national suicide prevention hotline was founded.