Kate Middleton In Sandro Cecil Cardigan Celebrates First Anniversary Of Shout

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge marked the first anniversary of Shout, the UK’s first 24/7 crisis text line which the couple launched last year. It’s one of several legacy projects resulting from the hugely successful Heads Together campaign. The team at the Royal Foundation contacted Crisis Text Line in the US to begin the process of bringing their successful model to the UK. It marked the Foundation’s largest initiative to date with £3 million invested. During the COVID-19 crisis, resources like Shout have been a lifeline for so many, and their model lends itself perfectly to supporting people in a time when so many charities and services have had to close their doors.
To mark the anniversary, William and Kate spoke to five of Shout’s volunteers about their experiences over the past twelve months and how their work has been altered during the pandemic.

Some bullet points about the service’s success:

As of 1 May 2020, 1,800 Shout Crisis Volunteers have had more than 300,000 text conversations since the service launched.
Since the UK lockdown was announced, Shout’s trained Crisis Volunteers have taken an increase of 6,000 text conversations.
The main issues raised by texters are suicide (34%), depression (34%), anxiety (32%), relationship (27%), loneliness (18%) and self-harm (15%).
The busiest period for text conversations on the 24/7 service is between 8-10pm and on any given day.

During the call, the royals heard from five volunteers as well as Shout Chief Executive Victoria Hornby. Prince William said, “You guys are the trailblazers, you have been doing a fantastic job keeping Shout moving forward, so well done and thank you for all your hard work; we really appreciate it.”