Cork text service volunteer says gambling, housing and loneliness are main issues

Callers to Spunout’s Text About It service might struggle with gambling, housing, loneliness, or be in immediate crisis, a West Cork volunteer with the service said, as numbers hit a record high last year.

The service hosted 52,748 conversations, a 9.4% increase on the year before. It also saw an increase in situations where emergency services had to be called. While most anonymous texters appear to be young, some revealed being in their 70s or older.

Volunteer Sophie Mae Harrington from West Cork, has been texting back since 2022.

Some call with “stress or anxiety” and might be “in the height of panic”, she said.

“But more and more it’s been coming up about housing and housing insecurity.”

For younger people, university can be challenging, including fear of picking the wrong course in this economic climate.

“Or they don’t know how to make friends in college, people feel very isolated,” she said.

Relationship issues, from marriage to friendships, are often cited.

“You can see people struggling with long-distance relationships or people going abroad, a lot of people are moving to Australia now for work,” she said.

She said that people might tell her: “I’m struggling with gambling, and I don’t know how to tell my partner.”

Loneliness is another common problem.

“There’s a lot of literature out there saying how the youth, even in Ireland, are becoming very isolated and lonely, but it’s not just young people,” she said.

“I’ve had much older people texting in. One person said: ‘My family don’t visit anymore, I’m living by myself, my partner has passed away’, and they had no one to talk to.”

Ms Harrington can contact a clinical supervisor if she is worried about someone, and they are online 24/7 also. “This is primarily a crisis intervention service for when people are emotionally overwhelmed,” she said.

“We typically try to keep conversations between 45 minutes and an hour because the research has shown there is no extra benefit to making conversations longer than that, and it will likely tire people out.”

She called on people to volunteer, saying: “Everybody has something different to offer.”

Positive feedback from users can be rewarding, she explained.

“One comment was: ‘I hope God blesses the person on the other side of this phone’. It’s really nice to feel like you’ve had an impact,” she said.

In a crisis, maybe self-harm or suicidal ideation, volunteers can get extra help, according to CEO Sinead Keane.

“Last year, as well as an increase in conversations, we had an increase in emergency interventions,” she said.

“These are classified as an immediate risk. And we link in with the National Ambulance Service, and we would get them to make a callout.”

Ms Keane urged anyone with worries to text in, saying: “If they just need somewhere to go for a chat, we’re there for them, so no problem is too small.”

“While it’s positive that young people feel able to reach out for support when they need it, it’s worrying that so many are experiencing feelings of anxiety, stress, and isolation,” she said.

“There’s a lot of adults using the service too. There were people on in their 70s and 80s last week as well.”

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