Human Rights At Sea Welcomes Launch Of Seafarers International Emotional Support Service

Befrienders Worldwide (BW), an international organisation of help centres, have just announced the launch of the Seafarers International Emotional Support Service (SIESS). SIESS will support seafarers experiencing emotional crisis or distress anywhere, anytime.

Generously supported by the Seafarers Charity, this service arrives at a crucial moment for seafarers who still found themselves caught up in the aftermath of the pandemic, experiencing mobility restrictions, working on overextended contracts, away from their families.

The mental health of the seafarers is often neglected or forgotten given the nature of their profession and the accompanying sea blindness.

The SIESS will be provided by four centres in the USA, Spain, China/Hong Kong, and the Philippines. All Befrienders’ centres are staffed by trained active listening volunteers, who will give any caller the time and space to be heard and the confidence to know that they will not be judged on anything they say. Everything is treated in strictest confidence, and the caller will not be asked to give their name.

The Seafarers International Emotional Support Service can be accessed by entering the URL: https://help.befrienders.org and clicking on “Emotional Help for Seafarers”.

Reference: humanrightsatsea.org