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← Song by songA number for every country: free crisis lines in Spain, Latin America and Europe

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A number for every country: free crisis lines in Spain, Latin America and Europe

If you are thinking about ending your life right now and you are in Spain, call [024](https://www.sanidad.gob.es/linea024/home.htm). It's free, confidential and open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. If there is immediate danger, dial 112. If you are in another country, you'll find its own line further down; if it isn't listed, call the emergency number wherever you are. This text is general information and does not replace a professional.

Whenever I write about my mental health, I put 024 at the top. I do it because most of the people who read me are in Spain. But not all of them. My songs are also heard in Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Chile, and in European cities where lots of Spanish speakers live. For those people, 024 is useless. Dial it from Bogotá or London and nobody picks up.

So I wanted to put together a list, country by country. A short list, no padding, with one rule: every number has been checked against an official source or the organisation's own website, and linked so you can check it yourself. If I couldn't confirm a phone number for a country, I've left it out. I'd rather leave a gap than give a wrong number. In a crisis, a number that doesn't work is worse than no number at all.

Before the list: how to use it

Save it before you need it. Take a screenshot, put your country's number in your phone under a name you'll recognise. When things are bad, searching, comparing and reading all take effort. Better to have it ready.

You don't have to be on the edge of anything to call. These lines also help people who are deeply distressed, people who can't take any more, and the family or friends of someone they're worried about. If you're not sure whether what you're going through "counts", call anyway. That's what they're there for.

Numbers change. Services expand, change their hours or their operator. I've checked each one against the source I link to, but if you save it, open the link and confirm it from time to time.

Spain

  • 024. Suicide crisis line. Run by the Ministry of Health. Free, confidential, 24 hours, 365 days. It helps people with suicidal thoughts or behaviour, and also their family and friends, including people who have lost someone to suicide. There's a chat run by the Red Cross for anyone who can't or doesn't want to talk.
  • 112. For any emergency where a life is at immediate risk.
  • Teléfono de la Esperanza: 717 003 717. A permanent, free crisis listening service, as listed on the suicide prevention portal of the Murcia Health Service.
  • ANAR Foundation: 900 202 010. For children and teenagers. Free, confidential, 24 hours, with chat. Listed in the same official guide.

LGBTI resources in Spain:

  • 028. Arcoíris service. Spain's national service for victims of anti-LGBTI hate. According to La Moncloa, it's free, runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and answers in ten languages. The team includes psychologists, social workers and legal advisers, and it offers immediate psychosocial support. It serves LGBTI people and those close to them.
  • FELGTBI+ Línea Arcoíris: 913 604 605, and on WhatsApp at 676 78 58 30. Anonymous, confidential and free, according to the federation's own dossier. It listens, informs and refers people to local organisations. It has programmes for young people, families, hate-crime victims and sexual health.

Mexico

Colombia

  • Línea 106. The Ministry of Health and Social Protection describes it as free, confidential and available 24 hours a day, every day, staffed by mental health professionals. Several cities run their own local lines.
  • In Bogotá, Línea 106 also has a WhatsApp chat at 300 754 8933, according to the Bogotá city government. For emergencies, 123.

LGBTI resource in Colombia:

  • Línea Diversa (Bogotá): WhatsApp 310 864 4214. Psychosocial support for LGBTI people, their families and support networks. Monday to Friday 8:00 to 18:00 and Saturdays 10:00 to 16:00, according to the same city government page.

Argentina

  • 0800 999 0091. National guidance line for mental health emergencies. Free, confidential, 24 hours, 365 days, staffed by professionals who coordinate with each province's emergency services. That's how the Argentine Government explains it, on the page of the Laura Bonaparte National Hospital.

Chile

Peru

  • Line 113, option 5. Free psychological guidance from the Ministry of Health, available 24 hours a day, every day, according to the state news agency Andina.

Ecuador

  • Line 171, option 6. Telephone mental health support from the Ministry of Public Health. The ministry published opening hours of 7:00 to 20:00 every day, public holidays included. UNICEF keeps it in its regional guide as a public psychosocial support line.

Uruguay

Paraguay

  • Línea 155 "Te escucha". The national mental health crisis line run by the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare. Free, confidential and available 24 hours a day, all year round, staffed by psychologists and psychiatrists trained in crisis management. It handles suicidal crises, anxiety and panic attacks, violence, and guidance for individuals and families. PAHO lists it in its annual country report.

Bolivia

  • Familia Segura: 800 11 30 40, and on WhatsApp at 777 97 667. A free psycho-emotional support service from UNICEF Bolivia. You can call it from a landline or a mobile, and it also responds to suicidal thoughts and attempts. Open every day from 6:00 to midnight, according to the service's page.

Guatemala

  • 1582 "Te escucha", and on WhatsApp at 3007-1582. Mental health and crisis line run by FUNDEGUA, the Desarrolla Guatemala Foundation for Education and Health. It's free and can be dialled from any phone in the country. The foundation says that since 10 October 2026 it has been open 24 hours a day, every day.

El Salvador

  • 131, mental health option. Free telehealth service from the Ministry of Health. When you call, choose your region and then the mental health option. According to the official service listing, it's open Monday to Friday, 7:30 to 15:30.
  • ISSS Te Escucho: 7071-1302. Free psychological and psychiatric support by phone from the Salvadoran Social Security Institute, 24 hours a day, for the whole population and not only for people who pay contributions, according to the Presidency of the Republic. The ISSS itself confirms it as a 24/7 service.

Costa Rica

  • "Aquí Estoy" line: 800 2737869 (800-AQUÍ ESTOY). Free, run by the Costa Rican Association of Psychology Professionals. Monday to Friday 14:00 to 22:00 and Saturdays 9:00 to 16:00. It covers anxiety crises, depression, violence and the risk of self-harm or suicide. That's how it appears in the University of Costa Rica directory, updated in August 2026. For emergencies, 911.

Panama

If you live in the United States

Many people from Latin America live there, so I've included it.

If you live elsewhere in Europe

These are countries with large Spanish-speaking communities. The lines answer in the local language, so it's worth knowing that before you call.

  • United Kingdom: Samaritans, 116 123. Free from landlines and mobiles, 24 hours, 365 days, according to the official Northern Ireland directory. The same listing says the number also works in the Republic of Ireland.
  • United Kingdom, LGBTI resource: Switchboard LGBT+, 0800 0119 100. Every day from 10:00 to 22:00, answered by LGBTQIA+ people, according to its own website and Kensington and Chelsea council.
  • France: 3114. National suicide prevention number. Free, 24 hours, 7 days, answered by trained nurses and psychologists. Explained by Santé.fr and the French Government.
  • Germany: TelefonSeelsorge, 0800 111 0 111 or 0800 111 0 222. Available around the clock, according to the Federal Government's family portal.
  • Italy: Telefono Amico, 02 2327 2327. Every day from 9:00 to midnight, and on WhatsApp at 324 011 7252, according to the organisation itself. The service is free; you only pay whatever the call costs on your plan.
  • Portugal: 1411. National suicide prevention line of the National Health Service. Free, 24 hours, answered by psychologists, according to the Portuguese Government. The SNS 24 line (808 24 24 24) is also free, open 24 hours and has a psychological counselling service with clinical psychologists, as the Health Regulatory Authority explains.

The countries that are missing

Some countries are missing. I know. Venezuela, Honduras, Nicaragua, Cuba, the Dominican Republic. For some of them I found numbers in the press or in private listings, but I couldn't confirm them with a current official source. And I've already said the rule: if I can't verify it, I don't publish it.

If you live in one of those countries, these doors are always there:

  • Your country's emergency number, if there is immediate danger.
  • The A&E department of the nearest hospital. A mental health crisis is a medical emergency like any other.
  • Your health centre or GP. That's usually the way into public psychological care.
  • Someone you trust. One person is enough to start.

If you're calling for someone else

You can call about someone you're worried about. Almost all of these lines say so explicitly. They'll help you work out what to say, how to ask and what to do if things get worse. If the person is in danger right now, don't wait: call emergency services.

And if they live in another country, as happens so often in families split between Spain and the Americas, find their country's number here and send it to them. A message with a phone number and an "I'm here" can do more than a long speech.

Why I'm the one writing this

At 41 I was diagnosed with major depression, among other things, and a good psychologist is helping me keep going. I wrote about it in the series Mental health without taboo. I'm not a health professional, so I can't give you clinical advice. What I can do is use this small loudspeaker to get a phone number to someone who needs it.

One of my songs, "Entre cuatro paredes" ("Between four walls"), describes the place from which it's so hard to pick up the phone. It has a line that goes «No encuentro consuelo ni en la oscuridad», "I can't find comfort even in the dark". I wrote it knowing how heavy that is. That's also why I know that, from there, looking up a number feels impossible. Having the list ready is a way of saving you that step.

Hopelessness lies about the future. It tells you that today is how it will always be. The people who answer these lines know that, and they know how to be with you at exactly that moment. Asking for help works. If you need to call today, call today.

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