Suicide Hotlines and Crisis Lines in Malta

If you are in crisis in Malta, or you are worried about someone who is, the numbers below will put you through to a person. Some are staffed around the clock, others keep office hours, so the entry tells you which is which before you dial.

Every service on this page was checked at its own website on 27 August 2026. The short codes (112, 1579, 179, 1770) are dialled from inside Malta; where a service publishes a full international number, we have given that too.

CRISIS LINES, SUICIDE HOTLINES, AND HELPLINES IN MALTA

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Emergency services 112

Mental Health Helpline 1579

Supportline 179

Richmond Foundation Helpline 1770 and OLLI.Chat

Kellimni.com

Victim Support Malta

While you wait for someone to answer

If you are worried about someone else

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Emergency services 112

If there is immediate danger to life, call the emergency services. This is the number to use when someone has been harmed, has taken something, or cannot be kept safe where they are. It reaches police, ambulance and fire.

Tel: 112 (dial it while you are in Malta; 112 is the emergency number across the EU)

Hours: 24 hours a day, every day.

Source: Kellimni.com, the government-funded national support service, states: "If you are in an emergency or life threatening situation, it is best to call the Emergency Services on 112 (this number operates 24/7)."

Mental Health Helpline 1579

1579 is Malta's national mental health helpline, run by the government's Mental Health Services. It is answered by psychology professionals who work in those services and who have been trained for the helpline, on shifts that keep it running through the night. Call it if you need immediate emotional support, if you are in the middle of a crisis and want practical advice on managing it, or if you want to know what services exist and how to reach them.

Tel: 1579

Hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Cost: Free.

Source: Ministry for Health, health.gov.mt: "The 1579 Mental Health Helpline is a 24hr national telephone helpline, providing immediate and free emotional support, advice and practical guidance for anyone in need."

Supportline 179

179 is the national social welfare helpline, run by Aġenzija Appoġġ within the Foundation for Social Welfare Services. It offers support, information about local services, and referral on to the agency that fits the problem. It takes calls about child abuse, domestic violence, drug, alcohol and gambling problems, and homelessness, and it is a national service for anyone in difficulty or in crisis.

The same team also answers the EU emotional support number and the EU child helpline, so those numbers reach the same people.

Tel: 179

Tel (landline, dialable from abroad): +356 2388 5110

EU Emotional Support Helpline: 116 123

EU Child Helpline: 116 111

Hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The website chat is open daily from 07:30 to 13:00 and from 19:30 to 24:00.

Cost: Free from landlines and from mobiles.

Source: FSWS, fsws.gov.mt: "The Supportline 179 is available on a 24/7 basis and all calls are free both from landlines and also from mobile phones... all the calls received on the EU Emotional Support Helpline 116 123 and EU Child Helpline 116 111, are dealt with by the Supportline 179 team."

Richmond Foundation Helpline 1770 and OLLI.Chat

Richmond Foundation is Malta's main mental health NGO. Its helpline is open to anyone facing mental health difficulties, and its staff offer emotional support alongside practical guidance. OLLI.Chat is the same service in writing, for people who would rather type than talk.

This line is not open overnight. Richmond's own instruction outside its hours is to call 1579.

Tel: 1770

Chat: OLLI.Chat

Hours: Monday to Friday 08:00 to 20:00, Saturday until 16:00. Outside these hours, call 1579.

Cost: Free.

Source: Richmond Foundation, richmond.org.mt: "Our helpline is free and available to anyone experiencing mental health challenges... We are here Monday to Friday from 8 AM to 8 PM, and on Saturdays until 4 PM. After this time, you can contact 1579, the mental health services helpline."

Kellimni.com

Kellimni.com is an online support service run by the NGO SOS Malta and funded by the Ministry for the Family, Children's Rights and Social Solidarity. There is no phone line. You reach a trained operator by chat, and the service is anonymous, so you will usually not be asked for your name unless the team believes you are at high risk.

Email is answered too, but the service asks for up to two days, so it is not the route to use in a crisis.

Chat: kellimni.com, also reachable via WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram and Telegram.

Hours: Chat 24/7. Email replies can take up to 2 days.

Cost: Free.

Source: Kellimni.com: "All our services are completely free since we are funded by the Ministry for the Family, Children's Rights and Social Solidarity. Kellimni.com is a funded project run by the NGO SOS Malta... It is manned by a team of professionally trained operators ready to support you."

Victim Support Malta

Victim Support Malta works with people and families affected by trauma following crime or suicide, through psychological, psychiatric and legal support. Its SPOT service is suicide prevention outreach and therapy. This is an appointment-based service rather than a crisis line, and it matters most in the weeks and months after a death or an assault, when the emergency has passed and the need has not.

Tel: +356 2122 8333

Email: info@victimsupport.org.mt

Hours: Monday to Thursday 08:00 to 20:00, Friday 08:00 to 16:00.

Source: victimsupport.org.mt: "Providing support and assistance to individuals and families who have been affected by trauma as a result of crime or suicide."

While you wait for someone to answer

Lines get busy, and the wait can feel long when you are already at the end of your reserves. A few things help in that gap.

Tell someone where you are. A flatmate, a neighbour, a family member, anyone who can sit with you counts, and you do not have to explain the whole of it to them.

Move somewhere you are less alone, even if that is only the next room or a lit street.

If you have the means to harm yourself nearby, put distance between you and them, or ask the person with you to hold them.

If the line you tried is closed, try the next one on this page. 112, 1579 and 179 are all staffed overnight.

The urge to end your life tends to come in waves rather than as a steady state. Getting through the next hour is a reasonable goal, and it is often enough.

If you are worried about someone else

Ask them directly whether they are thinking about suicide. Asking does not put the idea in someone's head, and for many people it is a relief to be asked plainly by someone who can hear the answer.

Listen without rushing to fix it. You are not expected to have a solution, and trying to argue someone out of despair usually leaves them feeling more alone.

Stay with them, or arrange for someone else to, and help them make the call rather than leaving them a number.

If they are in immediate danger, call 112. If you need guidance on how to handle it, 1579 takes calls from people who are concerned about a family member or friend.

Supporting someone through this is heavy work. Those same lines will talk to you about your own end of it.

Click here to see an extensive list of suicide hotlines, crisis lines and helplines from around the world.

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