Prince William Has Quietly Been Volunteering For A Mental Crisis Hotline

Jun 08, 2020

The Duke of Cambridge recently unveiled that he has secretly been volunteering to help people who are struggling to cope during the current quarantine. 

In May of 2019, Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton launched Shout, UK’s first “24/7 UK crisis text service available for times when people feel they need immediate support,” as the organization’s website states.

The project is very dear to the royal family’s heart and therefore received a £3 million investment from The Royal Foundation. 

During a recent video call with the Shout team members, the Duke of Cambridge revealed that he himself is actually volunteering on Shout to talk to people who are struggling with mental health issues during the Covid-19 lockdown:

"I'm going to share a little secret with you guys, I'm actually on the platform volunteering," Prince William stated as reported by The Guardian.

The Duke isn’t the only member of the royal family that is volunteering on Shout. His wife  Kate Middleton shared that she has also been to assisting with "check-in and chat" calls for people who are feeling very vulnerable during self-isolation, according to The Guardian.  

All of this is part of the Royal Voluntary Service's National Health Service Volunteer Responders program, which was created to provide assistance to the National Health Service and to help support everyone who is struggling to cope with the current situation.

Volunteering for Shout is not the first time Prince William has been invested in tackling the stigma attached to mental health issues. In January, he shared a video in which he encouraged millions of soccer fans to pay attention to and take care of their mental health. 

In 2019, the Duke opened up about losing his mother Princess Diana as he spoke in a BBC documentary addressing mental health issues and the fact that men shouldn’t have to feel uncomfortable talking about the topic. In 2018, Prince William launched Mental Health at Work, a website that offers ways and means to improve mental health in working environments. 

How are you coping with the current situation? Let us know in the comments and be sure to pass this article along to others who might be interested in hearing about Prince William’s commitment to mental health issues.