Community Help Service (CHS) has been presented with a certificate confirming its membership in Befrienders Worldwide, the international network of volunteer-based helplines. CHS operates the CHS Helpline, which provides free, confidential support in English 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Befrienders Worldwide is a family of listening volunteers who are there for people who are distressed, despairing, or suicidal. Its main aim is to provide emotional support to people at risk of suicide. Befrienders also work to alleviate loneliness and depression by listening to anyone who feels they have nowhere else to turn. Across the network, centres have supported people in 193 countries and in 44 languages.
The people who run these centres – Befrienders – are specially trained volunteers. The CHS Helpline’s volunteers receive the same careful preparation so they can listen with empathy, without judgement, and in confidence.
Globally, suicide is the third-leading cause of death among 15–29 year olds. Here in Belgium, an average of five people die by suicide every day, and among young people aged 10–24 the rate is two suicides every week.
In the first half of 2025, CHS saw a more than 20% increase in calls from people expressing suicidal thoughts compared to the same period in 2024. Membership in Befrienders Worldwide strengthens CHS’s role in the global effort to reduce the risk of suicide and to be there for people who need someone to listen.
You can learn more about the values and work of Befrienders Worldwide via its website and through a moving short film, which shares perspectives from some of its members.