Who to turn to for help and support during a crisis

As the Mencap Learning Disability Helpline (England) do not offer emergency advice and support, we have put together this list of agencies and services who may be able to help you in a crisis situation.

However, if you or someone else is in crisis, but you don’t think you need the police or an ambulance:

• Contact a GP (doctor) – Search for a GP
• Contact an out of hours service, by calling 111 or using NHS 111 online service. The NHS 111 service has created an Easy Read to tell you more about their service and how to contact them.
• Go to NHS services on the NHS website.
• You could also visit the NHS website to find out where to get urgent mental health help.

You can speak to the Samaritans, they are available 24 hours a day for confidential , non-judgmental support:

Call them on 116 123 or email: jo@samaritans.org

If you are a survivor of domestic abuse - you can get support from Refuge.
Refuge run the National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247

If you are hurting the ones you love - contact the Respect Helpline on 0808 802 4040. 
For information about Respect visit their website.

Suicide Prevention Charity – Papyrus, run a crisis helpline called HOPELINE247 for children and young people under the age of 35. They can be contacted:

By telephone on 0800 068 4141

By text on 07860 039 967

By emailing pat@papyrus-uk.org

You could also contact SHOUT:

By texting SHOUT to 85258

Or find out more about SHOUT at https://giveusashout.org/get-help/

Hub of Hope have a searchable database, just put your postcode in and you can find crisis support local to your area https://hubofhope.co.uk/

If you are a child, you can contact Childline – by calling 0800 1111 or by visiting the Childline website

If you are an adult and concerned about a child, contact NSPCC helpline for adults – 0808 800 5000.

If your loved one has been taken into hospital – there is more information on our health pages.

If you are concerned about someone being admitted to an Assessment and Treatment Unit (A.T.U.) – there is more information here.

If you need food, click here for the Trussell Trust and help finding a local foodbank.

If you need advice and support due to the current cost of living crisis, we have information and easy read guides on the Mencap cost of living pages.

If you need help with money or benefits the following organisations can support you:

Turn2us – https://www.turn2us.org.uk/ 

MoneyHelper - https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/

Citizens Advice Bureau – https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

If you are going to be made homeless, contact Shelter by calling 0808 800 4444, or clicking here and using their online Webchat. You also need to contact the housing department at your local council without delay.