HEAL and REACH mental health text messaging support :: Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

Date published: 1 July 2021

Free, confidential, 24/7 text message support is available for anyone who is feeling overwhelmed or is struggling to cope.

The service is staffed by trained volunteers who will work with you to take your next steps towards feeling better. They can help with issues such as:

Anxiety
Bullying
Depression
Loneliness
Relationships
Self-harm
Stress
Suicidal thoughts or feelings
Worry

Simply text the keyword and number for the area you live in for immediate support available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Text HEAL to 85258 if you live in Liverpool or Sefton
Text REACH to 85258 if you live in Halton, Knowsley, St Helens or Warrington (available for children, young people and adults).

What happens when you use the service?

Text - To start a conversation, text the word HEAL (Liverpool and Sefton) or REACH (Halton, Knowsley, St Helens and Warrington) to 85258. You can use this if you’re feeling low, anxious, worried, lonely, overwhelmed, suicidal or not quite yourself.

Connect - Once you text, you’ll receive four automated messages before you are connected to a Shout volunteer. This will usually be within five minutes, but if in busier times it may take longer.

Talk - The volunteer will introduce themselves and ask you to share a bit more about what’s bothering you. This might include feeling anxious, having relationship problems, addiction, depression, bullying, self-harm and suicide. You will text back and forth and share what you feel comfortable with.

Plan- The goal of the conversation is to help you reach a calm and safe place, with a plan of how to support yourself going forwards. As well as listening without judgement, Shout volunteers may provide you with further resources or tools to help you get more expert support.

Calm - Your conversation will only end when the volunteer is sure you are in a safe and calm place. Conversations tend to last around 40 minutes.