Suicide Hotlines and Crisis Lines in Kenya

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 answered by counsellors, social workers or trained volunteers, depending on the service. If you are not in Kenya, 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. What each service costs is set out beside it below.

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 KENYA

Each number below was checked in September 2026 at the operating organisation's own website, or at an official Kenyan government or regulator page.

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

Emergency numbers, 999 and 112

Gender Violence Recovery Centre, 0800 720 565, for gender-based violence

Befrienders Kenya, for suicide prevention and emotional distress

NACADA Toll-Free Helpline, 1192, for alcohol and drug abuse

Kenya Red Cross Society, 1199

Childline Kenya, 116, for children

While you are waiting to be answered

If you are worried about someone else

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Emergency numbers, 999 and 112

Kenya's national telecoms regulator, the Communications Authority of Kenya, allocates two emergency codes rather than one. Its own numbering plan lists "Emergency Service 112" and "Emergency 999" side by side as nationally recognised emergency numbers.

Emergency (police, ambulance and fire): 999

Emergency (alternative code): 112

Which service answers first, and whether these calls are free, is not published on the pages we checked. If you cannot get through, go to the nearest hospital emergency department.

Gender Violence Recovery Centre, 0800 720 565, for gender-based violence

The Gender Violence Recovery Centre (GVRC), a charitable trust of the Nairobi Women's Hospital Group, is the organisation TherapyRoute could most clearly verify as running a national, round-the-clock crisis line today. In its own words: "GVRC offers free, comprehensive medical, legal, and psychosocial support. You are not alone." It describes itself as the pioneer organisation on gender-based violence management in Kenya, providing free medical treatment and psychosocial support to survivors of sexual, physical, psychological or emotional abuse. Admitted here under TherapyRoute's ruling that a scoped line a reader needs is worth more than a worldwide index: this line answers for gender-based violence specifically, not every kind of crisis.

Tel: 0800 720 565 (toll-free)

Tel: 0719 638 006 (headquarters)

Hours: "24/7", in GVRC's own words, for the toll-free line.

Cost: free; a toll-free number, and GVRC's own page states its services are free.

Befrienders Kenya, for suicide prevention and emotional distress

Befrienders Kenya is a charitable organisation focused on suicide prevention, offering psychological support and counselling "to those whom may be in distress and therefore at risk of taking their lives," in its own words, as well as community awareness work on suicide prevention.

Tel: +254 722 178 177 (call, SMS or WhatsApp — one number for all three)

Hours: "open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm". Not 24/7; outside these hours, GVRC or the emergency numbers above can help.

Cost: free, and the organisation describes the line as confidential, in its own words.

NACADA Toll-Free Helpline, 1192, for alcohol and drug abuse

The NACADA Toll-Free Helpline is run by the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse. In its own words: "Call our free helpline service number 1192 for telephone counseling and referrals to an accredited treatment and rehabilitation facility near you." The counselling and referrals cover drug and substance abuse issues, and the helpline also shares information on groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. Walk-in counselling is available at NACADA's Nairobi Helpline Centre during office hours.

Tel: 1192

Hours: "offered 24 hours a day, every day."

Cost: free, in NACADA's own words: a "free helpline service."

Kenya Red Cross Society, 1199

Kenya Red Cross Society lists a toll-free number, 1199, on its own current contact page, under the heading "Call Us Anytime." We could not confirm on the Kenya Red Cross Society's current site that 1199 specifically answers as a counselling or mental-health line, though this has been reported elsewhere in the past. We include the number because it is live and toll-free today, and say plainly what we could and could not verify about it, rather than guess.

Tel: 1199 (toll-free)

Tel: +254 703 037 000

Hours: "Call Us Anytime", in the organisation's own words. Not stated as 24/7 on the page we checked.

Cost: toll-free.

Childline Kenya, 116, for children

The National Child Helpline 116 is run in partnership between Childline Kenya and the Government of Kenya's State Department for Children Services. In the government's own words: "The National Child Helpline 116 service is a telephone and web-based service that provides an avenue for children to be listened to and to be linked with essential services through a coordinated referral system nationwide." It is answered by trained child protection officers, counsellors and social workers, and its team works across all 47 of Kenya's counties.

Tel: 116

Call or text: 0724 555 251 / 0732 263 554

WhatsApp: +254 722 116 116

Hours: "The National Child Helpline runs 24 hours toll free."

Cost: free.

While you are waiting to be answered

A line that is open can still be busy, and one of the lines above answers only on weekdays. 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 999 or 112, 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. If a child is in your care and needs support, Childline Kenya answers at any hour on the number above.

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

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