What is ‘Obro feel’?
How many times have you found yourself in a difficult situation where you needed professional help but it was not available to you discreetly? Surely, many. To prevent this from happening again, the Generalitat has launched a new service called ‘Obro feel’. This service, active since November 2023, has been used by almost 900 people so far. ‘Obro feel’ is an emotional support chat through WhatsApp, created by the General Directorate of Youth of the Generalitat, which has transformed WhatsApp into something more than a simple instant messaging application.
How does it work?
Young people who need emotional support can contact this service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They just need to add the number 680 354 155 to their WhatsApp contacts and start a conversation. A volunteer from the Ayuda y Esperanza Foundation, trained in empathic listening and emotional management, will provide personalized support. Once the situation is identified, the young person will be provided with the necessary support and tools to deal with their discomfort and contribute positively to their daily life. If you need medical attention, you will be informed about how to access public health services or other available resources, such as youth offices, associations and entities. If an urgent medical need is detected, the case will be referred to the Medical Emergency System team. This collaboration to facilitate referral is part of the Suicide Prevention Plan of Catalonia. It should be noted that the Ayuda y Esperanza Foundation also manages the ‘Hope Telephone’, with ‘Obro feel’ being its version for young people.
A safe space
According to those responsible for the service, ‘Obro feel’ provides an accessible, intimate, safe and judgment-free space, where young people can openly express their concerns. Since its launch, 899 users have been served and around 55,000 messages have been exchanged. Approximately 33% of users were under 18 years old and 61% were between 18 and 35 years old. Regarding gender, 66% of the contacts received were girls. The conversations have mainly addressed relational problems (29%), depression (15%), suicidal ideation (7%), eating disorders (3%), other mental health problems (14%), physical health problems ( 10%), unwanted loneliness (3%) and bullying (2%). Cases of drug addiction, abuse and mistreatment, among others, have also been attended to, although to a lesser extent.
