Volunteer Emotional Support Helplines

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Volunteer Emotional Support Helplines (VESH) is a planned combined international network of telephone counseling services being formed by the three largest international services (Befrienders/Samaritans, IFOTES & Lifeline). In their roles of emotional support service networks, they have agreed to develop a more effective and robust international interface.

VESH represents 1200 member centres in 61 countries. Their goal is to ensure maximum access to effective services for people in distress. They agreed to:

• encourage the development of new services in areas of need
• promote best practice
• increase information sharing between member associations and externally
• represent members’ experiences internationally
• promote communications skills which contribute to emotional health.

Together, the VESH partners have around 1,200 member centres in 61 countries. They have outlined a commitment to information sharing and joint activities. Part of this includes annual meetings and quarterly telephone conferences to plan and implement collaborative projects.

At the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) Congress in Ireland in 2007, VESH members

1. were asked to consider leading the re-establishment of an IASP Task Force on Best Practice in Helplines.
2. agreed to provide one person to be on the Scientific Committee planning the content of the 2009 IASP International Congress.
3. agreed to produce two draft booklets along the lines of ‘Setting up a New Emotional Support Service’, and ‘Best Practice Guidelines’ (following a request from WHO)