50808 – Talk To Someone 24/7

You might have seen during our recent Mental Health Week Campaign that we shared lots of ways to get support if you’re having a tough time right now. One of those services is a text number: 50808. This is a mental health crisis text line that is available 24/7. When you use this service they will talk to you – whether you need someone to help you feel calmer, or whether you need immediate help in a mental health or emotional crisis – whether it’s a big one, or a small one.

The service is anonymous, and you should get a response to your message within five minutes.

To contact this service you can text HELLO to the 50808 number. Some campuses have partnered with the service, so you might see information from your college or university that tells you to send the abbreviation of your college/university name instead of the word HELLO – for example if you attend Athlone Institute of Technology, you can text AIT to 50808. This service is free to use.

If you are an international student who is using their mobile number from their home country, you can also use the service. You might just have to use a different number than the one above – if you have tried using the 50808 number and it hasn’t worked, try using the number 0861800280 instead. You will still get to speak to someone. Please note this number may incur standard network charges.

If you are a student from the UK or Northern Ireland, and you are using your mobile number from home, you can access the UK version of this service by texting SHOUT to 85258.