CCCline 1333 A confidential support system when you need it the most

At times when you feel lonely and depressed you need a support system to talk about your worries. But people often feel reluctant to seek psychological support due to the stigma attached to mental health services. It is in this backdrop that the 1333 helpline was setup with the aim of bringing down the high suicide rate in Sri Lanka. This free and confidential service was set up in December 2009 by CCC Foundation Sri Lanka and Australia in collaboration with the National Institute for Mental Health and Lifeline Australia. 

The founder CEO of CCC Foundation, Jetha Devapura, who has been personally affected by mental illness said, “a simple conversation can make a difference, even save a life. The aim of CCCline 1333 is to encourage people to talk about their concerns before they escalate to bigger issues including mental illness and even suicide”. The ultimate aim of this vital service is to prevent suicide in Sri Lanka.

 Since it’s inception calls to CCCline 1333 have increased and have peaked around 3,500 crisis support calls per month; especially during the 1333Bikeathon campaign. Suresh Mendis, Chairman of the Board at CCC Foundation Sri Lanka said, “the call rates are much higher to the service and we need more crisis supporters to keep up with the calls”. 

During the height of the pandemic there was a challenge to answer calls due to travel restrictions etc. As a result CCCline 1333 have now expanded to a cloud base system, which has allowed our Crisis Supporters the option to answer calls at our service centre in Colombo or answer calls from home. This expansion has allowed more calls to be answered during these challenging times faced by the people in Sri Lanka. 

“All callers are directed to a menu where they can choose to talk to a Crisis Supporter in Sinhala, Tamil or English,” said Maya Weerapura, Secretary of the Board at CCC Foundation Sri Lanka. “The caller then gets automatically directed to the next available Crisis Supporter. The caller is not asked to disclose their name or any other information that reveals their identity. The caller can rest assured that their information is kept confidential as seen best to support them, and there is no call charge from any mobile or landline within Sri Lanka.”

The Crisis Supporters are the life blood who keep serving our callers no matter what their circumstance. Crisis Supporters at CCCline 1333 are trained under the Lifeline Australia crisis support model and provide a compassionate ear to callers in distress or simply want to talk to someone about their worries. 
“Our Crisis Supporters are volunteers that go through an intense training and mentoring programme before going onto the lines on their own” Weerapura further said. “To uphold a world class service, there are ongoing quality assurance and control measures in place, and the Crisis Supporters are provided with guidance and support by our trainers, coaches, administration and management.” 

The annual Bikeathon is a signature event organised by the CCC Foundation. 1333Bikeathon is the largest bike ride to promote mental health and suicide prevention in Sri Lanka. 

The criteria for recruitment of Crisis Supporters are simple. “We want people who are genuinely interested to serve people who are in distress and are non judgmental” she added. 

There is a selection process and a series of trainings before one can serve as a Crisis Supporter.
However, those near and dear are often the first to identify any changes in behaviour in a loved one. But in most instances they are unable to listen to another person’s worries  and the person who is affected may feel that it’s a burden to share their worries as well. But the CCCline 1333 encourages prevention over reaction. “We encourage people to talk to their own network first before calling 1333. However, some people feel they don’t have anyone who will listen without judgment”, said Suresh Mendis. 

CCCline 1333 believes that good mental health starts at home, school, university and in the workplace. To support people feeling safe to talk about their worries, CCC Foundation runs a programme called Let’sTALK. The programme runs in schools and workplaces with the purpose of ‘making people feel seen, heard and valued’. “Let’sTALK is a preventive and early intervention approach to making people feel safe to share their ideas, mistakes and worries without the fear of being ignored, humiliated, judged or even punished”, Jetha Devapura further said. 

As a result of its continued services there are many success stories of people calling them back and thanking them for giving them a new lease on life or simply making them feel better”, Weerapura added. For CCCline 1333 every call is a success story as they believe every conversation is closer to feeling better about themselves and their situation. 

However, much more needs to be done to break the stigma around psychological support services. The CCCline 1333 is the only not for profit charitable crisis support service that is toll free in Sri Lanka. “We encourage more services as there is never too much we can do to support the mental health and suicide prevention in Sri Lanka. Apart from improving access and capacity for more professional mental health services such as counselling, psychology and psychiatric services, we feel that there is much that can be done in schools and workplaces to break the stigma about mental illness and encourage people to proactively talk about their concerns.”
The annual Bikeathon is a signature event organised by the CCC Foundation. 1333Bikeathon is the largest bike ride to promote mental health and suicide prevention in Sri Lanka. Riders cover 1333km in 13 days to promote the 1333 toll free phone number and to raise funds to sustain CCCline 1333. 

The campaign for 2022 will be amended for a shorter ride, due to fuel shortages, covering 7 days and around 700km. 

The CCCline 1333 is continuously looking at improving its service and building capabilities to prevent suicide and better serve the mental health needs of people in Sri Lanka. CCCline 1333 is also looking at how best they can add value to corporate organisations by offering their Let’sTALK programme, which aims to cultivate psychological safety in their workplace. We are also looking at providing EAP services to corporate organisations to ensure we provide a holistic approach to mental health and wellbeing. 

In her concluding remarks, Weerapura said that generally people feel more inclined to seek help when they have ailments that are physical, compared to mental in nature. “For example we wouldn’t hesitate to see a doctor if we have a sore shoulder or knee. When it comes to mental health concerns that are less physically obvious, we shy away from seeking help as the fear of “what would they think” can persuade us to keep it silent or a secret. It’s time to break the silence and open up to express our mental health concerns, just like we do with our physical ailments. After all there is no good health without good mental health.”

The 2022 edition of the 1333 Bikeathon will take place from September 4-10.