Suicide Hotlines and Crisis Lines in Panama

A helpline is a place to talk to someone when you are struggling, before or instead of a crisis. The line on this page is answered by psychologists and social workers. If you are not in Panama, 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 the service costs, and when it is answered, 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 PANAMA

Each number below was checked in September 2026 at the operating organisation's own website, or at the Panamanian government page that runs the service.

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

Emergency numbers, and what each one is for

Línea 147, the national mental health line, phone and WhatsApp

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

Panama is unifying its emergency lines into a single number, and the older sector lines still answer while that programme completes, so all three are given here.

All emergencies: 911

911 is run by the Sistema Único de Manejo de Emergencias (SUME 911), the national prehospital medical-emergency service. The head of its dispatch centre puts the aim of the unification plainly: "when facing an emergency, people can call 911, and from there the help and necessary coordination with the corresponding institutions is managed."

Police: 104

The National Police publish 104 as their own emergency line, for reporting crime and for police emergencies.

Fire service: 103

The fire service (Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos) still operates 103 as its own emergency line alongside 911, in its own words as part of "an innovative project that will unify the emergency lines 103... and 911".

Línea 147, the national mental health line, phone and WhatsApp

Línea 147 is Panama's national mental health line, run by the Ministry of Social Development (MIDES) with the Fundación Más Móvil under the banner "Tu Vida importa, llama ahora" ("Your life matters, call now"). It is answered by, in the ministry's words, "a team of psychologists and social workers trained in crisis management".

The ministry states that the line attends suicidal or homicidal ideation, addiction or substance dependency, grief, family relationship difficulties, suspected conditions requiring professional mental-health attention, and accompaniment for chronic or terminal diagnoses. Callers receive psychological first aid and, where needed, referral into a directory of 67 specialised crisis centres. The ministry frames the line explicitly as a suicide-prevention tool.

It is free, national, and open at all hours: "24 hours a day, 365 days a year" in the ministry's own words. The WhatsApp channel carries the same service, works from any operator, and, per the agreement that created it, is "provided without interruption".

Tel: 147

WhatsApp: 6694-2747

Hours: 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, by phone and by WhatsApp.

Cost: free, in the ministry's own words: "un servicio gratuito", a free service, and the WhatsApp channel "like calls to Line 147, is free".

Languages: not published. The ministry's pages are in Spanish throughout.

While you are waiting to be answered

A line that is open at all hours 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, or message the WhatsApp channel while you wait.

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 911 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 Línea 147, or to make the call together, or to send the first WhatsApp message with them. 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. Línea 147 is open to any caller in the country, including someone worried about somebody else.

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

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