An alliance of 11 non-governmental organizations and societies in Bali is launching a mental health and suicide prevention helpline to plug a void in the local community's mental health service.

The helpline, dubbed the province's first of its kind, is due to go live on April 6 and is called Love Inside Suicide Awareness, or LISA. For the first three months, the free service would be available 12 hours a day, before expanding to 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

LISA's organizations collaborate under the umbrella of Bali Bersama Bisa (BBB), which seeks to foster physical, emotional, and social well-being in the province. Among these are the food-aid community Crisis Kitchen Bali, the drug-user rehabilitation group Movement of Recovery (MOR) Project, the Bali Bipolar Community, the transgender community Gaya Dewata, and the Center for the Study of Gender, Sexuality, and Human Rights (GSHR) at Udayana University.

A self-examination survey involving approximately 4,000 participants across Indonesia performed by the Indonesian Psychiatric Association (PDSKJI) between April and August of last year discovered that 62% had signs of depression and 44% had suicidal and self-harm thoughts.

In a phone interview, Nev Doidge, founder of the MOR Project, told Coconuts that the BBB, whose participants are involved in numerous outreach activities, has seen a significant rise in suicidal thoughts in Bali since the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to him, 25 out of 461 people who were assessed for mental wellbeing during BBB's relief efforts in Bali between November and January reported suicidal thoughts.

Such figures, however, do not represent the true reality because there is still a clear silence around mental health in the world, where being honest about one's mental health problems is likely to result in stigma and prejudice.

I Wayan Eka S. Antara, also known as Bimbim, the chairman of the MOR Project, stated that BBB aims to educate the general population and help eradicate the stigma surrounding mental health.

“We also want to educate the public on how it’s okay not to be okay and that you can seek help,” Bimbim said.

“Western cultures are more used to the concept of seeking help when they have a problem, but our people mostly choose to save their face,” he added, alluding to the shame often associated with mental health.

Bimbim also mentioned that LISA works as a means for identifying the different challenges that people in Bali face, as well as linking them to related organizations and communities that can offer additional assistance.

The Bali Bipolar Community's chairwoman, Yarra Rama, is positive about the launch of LISA.

“We are very much in support of this program, considering the relatively high suicide attempts in bipolar cases,” Yarra said.

LISA, which currently has 30 qualified volunteers, will initially be available in Indonesian but will eventually be available in English, according to organizers. BBB stated that they are now collecting money to finance the helpline's activities while also planning to build a community hub, which will have a food bank, counseling facilities, and space for support groups, among other things.

The Indonesian helpline will be operational from April 6 and can be contacted at +628113855472. You can find out more about LISA by visiting this website.