Suicide Hotlines and Crisis Lines in Jamaica

A helpline is a place to talk to someone when you are struggling, before or instead of a crisis. The lines on this page are run by Jamaica's Ministry of Health & Wellness and answered by psychologists and trained counsellors. If you are not in Jamaica, the worldwide list is organised by country.

What you share is kept private in almost all cases; if a counsellor believes a life is in immediate danger, they may arrange urgent help. Both of the services below are free to use, in the operating ministry's own published words, quoted beside each one.

TherapyRoute is a directory. We do not answer calls or messages ourselves, so please use the numbers below rather than contacting us if you need someone now.

CRISIS LINES, SUICIDE HOTLINES, AND HELPLINES IN JAMAICA

Each number below was checked in September 2026 at the Ministry of Health & Wellness's own pages, at the Jamaica Information Service, or at the Jamaica Constabulary Force's own website.

Notice an error or a missing service? Please tell us so we can correct it.

Emergency numbers, and what each one is for

The Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Helpline, 888-NEW-LIFE

U-Matter, the text line for 16 to 24 year olds

While you are waiting to be answered

If you are worried about someone else

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Emergency numbers, and what each one is for

Jamaica uses separate numbers for the police and for medical or fire emergencies, so both are given here. The Jamaica Constabulary Force prints both on its own website.

Police emergency: 119

Ambulance and fire: 110

If someone is having a mental-health crisis in a public place, the government's published pathway is to call the police, who contact the Community Mental Health Crisis Team, a unit of the health departments that travels to the person. For a crisis at home, the government routes callers to the helpline below.

The Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Helpline, 888-NEW-LIFE

The Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Helpline is run by the Ministry of Health & Wellness and was announced on World Mental Health Day 2019. The Ministry describes it as a "free, daily 24-hour confidential" helpline, and in its own words it "affords persons in need a reliable access point for initial counselling by psychologists and appropriate referrals for follow-up psychological and social support, and for intervention to address mental health crises, including suicidal intent or attempts."

The line was established with the NGO Choose Life International, and every source for it is the national Ministry itself, which routes the whole country to it. The Ministry was still reporting the line's call volumes in a press release of June 2025.

Tel: 888-NEW-LIFE, that is, 888-639-5433

Hours: daily, 24 hours, in the Ministry's own words quoted above.

Cost: toll-free. The Ministry's word is "free".

U-Matter, the text line for 16 to 24 year olds

U-Matter is a free, anonymous text-based counselling service for Jamaican youth aged 16 to 24, launched in March 2022 by the Ministry of Health and Wellness with UNICEF and the Caribbean Child Development Centre at the UWI Open Campus. Counsellors volunteered through the Jamaican Psychological Society and were trained by the Centre.

In the Ministry's own words, youth "can chat free, confidentially and anonymously with a U-Matter counsellor by texting the word SUPPORT to U-Report at 876-838-4897 on WhatsApp and SMS (free texts for Flow customers); or @ureportjamaica on Instagram or Facebook Messenger."

Text: the word SUPPORT to 876-838-4897 on WhatsApp or SMS

Chat: @ureportjamaica on Instagram or Facebook Messenger

Hours: not published as a schedule. The launch page's phrase is that young people can send messages "at any time".

Cost: free. The launch page states: "There is no cost to use the service."

While you are waiting to be answered

A line that is open can still be busy. If you are waiting, try to stay with someone you trust, or ask someone to sit with you until the call connects.

If you have anything near you that you could use to harm yourself, put it somewhere harder to reach, or ask someone else to hold it for you. Distance and time both help.

If waiting is not possible, dial 119 for the police, or 110 for an ambulance, or go to a hospital emergency department. You do not need an appointment and you do not need to explain yourself well.

If you are worried about someone else

Ask them directly. Asking someone whether they are thinking of suicide does not put the idea there, and it often comes as a relief to be asked plainly.

Listen more than you advise. You do not need the right words, and you are not expected to fix anything.

If they are willing, offer to sit with them while they call one of the numbers above, or to make the call together. If they are in immediate danger, treat it as you would any medical emergency.

Supporting someone through this is heavy, and it is reasonable to want support of your own. The national helpline above is open to anyone in Jamaica, including someone worried about another person.

For services in other countries, see the list of helplines and suicide hotlines worldwide.

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