A message pops up on the screen: – Hello! – Hello, replies Marita. Then the person writes: – I have suicide plans. This is how Marita’s volunteer guard starts at Kirkens SOS’s chat service. There she answers the help centre’s 24-hour call service, where both sender and sender are anonymous. Marita wishes to remain anonymous in the case for the sake of those who use the service and herself. Many who use the service struggle with suicidal thoughts. All the Church’s SOS volunteers are anonymous, and Marita wants to be as well. Photo: Aurora Ytreberg Meløe / news The first submitter is open about his suicide plans. – Those who enter are often very direct. Marita considers whether she should contact AMK, but comes to the conclusion during the conversation that it is not necessary. – I wish we had many more volunteers. It is particularly pressing at weekends, says Marita. Longer and darker conversations Church SOS lacks around 500 volunteers nationally. Annually, they receive over 300,000 inquiries, but in 2022 only managed to answer over half of them. – The most important thing we do is listen to people’s stories. Be in the dark with them, says Gry Heggås Jensen. Photo: Aurora Ytreberg Meløe / news – The conversations we get now are much longer and much more serious than they have been in the past. This is a predicted disaster from our side, says Gry Heggås Jensen, head of Church SOS in Nord-Hålogaland. Troms and Finnmark top the suicide statistics after Telemark, with a suicide rate of over 17 per cent. Jensen says that they have experienced an increase among young people contacting the Church’s SOS, especially via chat. Most people who make contact on chat are between 12 and 25 years old. The group that tops the suicide statistics are men between the ages of 50 and 60, but Jensen points out that if you combine the groups under 30, there is a very large group that has committed suicide. – Suicide is the most frequent cause of death for young people under the age of 30. Age groups and suicide 693 people took their own lives in 2023. Broken down by age group, it looks like this: 0-19 years: 37 20-29 years: 99 30-39 years: 129 40-49 years: 110 50-59 years: 125 60 -69 years: 79 70-79 years: 70 80-89 years: 37 90 years and over: 7 Figures are taken from the cause of death register. The organization Mental Helse is another nationwide 24-hour help service. They are also unable to answer all inquiries. Aslaug Timland Dale is calling for increased funds to hire more people to staff the support services. Photo: Emilie Gjengedal Vatnøy / Mental Health On chat they manage to answer between 70 and 80 per cent, but on the phone it is only around 40 to 45 per cent. – Unfortunately, there are so few, says Aslaug Dahle, general manager of Mental Health’s response services. Mental Health’s support service is staffed by permanent employees, and Dale is calling for increased financial support from the state to increase staffing to strengthen the support service. How common is suicide? Suicide is a relatively rare cause of death and there can be significant natural fluctuations from year to year. There has been a slight but significant increase in the number of suicides between 2010 and 2019. Both the number of suicides and the age-standardized suicide rate in 2023 fall within what can be expected based on random variation if compared with the years 2010-2019. If compared with the last five years 2018-2023, the mortality rate is at the very top level of what can be expected to be random. Overall, it must still be said that the suicide figures in 2023 were disturbingly high and they will be monitored closely in the years to come. This is what FHI writes in the report on causes of death in 2023, which came out earlier in May this year. Like the Church’s SOS, Dale says that they have also experienced more, longer and darker conversations, especially since the suicide figures from FHI came out a short time ago. She says it is difficult to know why it has increased, but believes attention in the media may have something to do with the matter. – Important job Back on duty, Marita has managed to reach an agreement on further contact with the first submitter. It is something the volunteers always try. – I tend to strive to write with warmth and care in the sentences. Photo: Aurora Ytreberg Meløe / news After ending the conversation, Marita says that it was dark, direct and detailed about suicide. There are not only such conversations in the chat shifts, some are also lighter and everyday. Marita says that although it can be challenging to be a volunteer, she has chosen to stand by it. – I am here because I think this is an important job. And I personally can stand it. Do you need to talk to someone? If you need to talk to someone after reading this case, there are several helplines, chat services and support groups where you can share your thoughts and feelings completely anonymously, and get support, advice and guidance: Mental health on the helpline 116 123 Mental helse also has a chat, which you can find at mentalhelse.no. Chat service from Church SOS: soschat.no Church SOS also has a helpline on 22 40 00 40 Cross on the neck from the Red Cross: 800 33 321 Cross on the neck also has chat: korspåhalsen.no In urgent cases, call 113 Sami national competence service – mental health care and drugs 78 96 74 00 Published 12.06.2024, at 16.29
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The Church’s SOS and Mental Health lack people – news Troms and Finnmark
