The Befrienders Penang came into existence in the year 1978. The service started with a small group of 12 volunteers offering a three hour service on weekdays. We are actively pursuing our ambition of providing a 24 hour service.

The service that we offer is called Befriending. Befriending is non-judgmental, confidential support that allows the caller to express his or her fears, worries and feelings to someone who has the time to listen. We offer this service in a number of ways:

• A telephone hotline service every day of the year
• Email befriending

People call us for many reasons. Some callers are suicidal. Others may be frightened, angry, sad, lonely or depressed. Some people call us because they are worried that someone they know is in danger of suicide or going through a crisis.

We have volunteers from every walk of life. Our volunteers speak many of the major Malaysian languages and dialects.