Kate Middleton Wears a Chic Plaid Blazer to Visit the Shout Crisis Text Line with Prince William
Earlier this year William, Kate, Harry and Meghan joined forces to launch Shout, a crisis text line. And today the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are meeting with volunteers who make running the service possible at a celebration in west London.
The royal couple are joining Shout’s Crisis Volunteer celebration event at the Troubadour White City Theatre, bringing together people from across the U.K. who give up their time for free to help those in need.
Arriving at 10:30 a.m., Kate looked smart in a pair of burgundy trousers by Joseph and a tweed jacket from Smythe as she and William, who was wearing a suit, chatted with people who work with Shout. The 24/7 text support service encourages people to reach out without fear or shame, and volunteers have so far had 145,000 conversations and exchanged six million messages with those in crisis.
The service was researched and developed with a ￡3 million investment from the Royal Foundation as a legacy of the Heads Together mental health campaign. During their visit, William and Kate were scheduled to receive an update on Shout’s impact.
Figures show that 75% of people who contact the text line are under 25 and the most frequent subjects raised in those conversations are suicide (37%), depression (36%), relationships (29%), anxiety (31%), isolation (19%), and self-harm (17%). Shout 85258 now has 1,500 Crisis Volunteers active on the platform with more training, graduating and joining the platform each week.
All four young royals have met with volunteers and shown ongoing hands-on support for the service, And the event today sees a special performance take place in the theatre ahead of a team photograph including the Duke and Duchess. As most volunteers work from home, the celebration offers the opportunity for rare interaction with the volunteering community.
“We feel that Shout is so important,” Kate said, when the program launched earlier this year. “It’s able to offer support when it’s crucially needed, and the opportunity to turn lives around. It also provides that wonderful opportunity for flexible volunteering, something I feel really passionate about too.”
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