Prince William, Kate Middleton Zoom call mental health charity to mark anniversary

Prince William, Kate Middleton joined a Zoom call to speak to volunteers of their mental health charity on Wednesday. Shout85258 is UK's first crisis text line that attends to callers 24/7. When theShout crisis line reached its first anniversary, the royal couple took part in a video call with them.

The volunteers spoke to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge about the role the service is playing during the crisis. The clip of their call with Shout was released by the Kensington Palace on Friday. Prince William and Kate Middleton spoke with volunteers Jo Irwin, Alexis Caught, Jo Booth, Michelle Fernandes and Kiel McPhilips, as well as CEO Victoria Hornby, Hello reports.

Prince William thanked the team from Shout for their work during the pandemic. He and Kate were speaking to the volunteers from their Norfolk home on Wednesday. The volunteers also told couple about the impact the lockdown has had on young people's mental wellbeing. They added how many are finding it hard to access their usual ways of maintaining good mental health, but the difference a supportive text conversation can make.

"You guys are the trailblazers, you have been doing a fantastic job keeping Shout moving forward, so well done and thank you for all your hard work; we really appreciate it," William said.

"The unique support that Shout is able to provide to people in crisis is crucial at all times, but now more than ever it can serve as a lifeline to those most in need - whatever they're going through, big or small. Without the hundreds of volunteers who give up their time to provide help and reassurance to others, the service simply wouldn't be able to function.

"That is why it was so great to hear the Duke and Duchess speak so positively not only about Shout's work but also encouraging people to get support with their mental health. We want to send a very clear message to anyone who is looking for someone to reach out to – we are here to listen to you anytime, anywhere about any problem," said crisis volunteer Alexis.

The organisation has launched a new campaign to promote its service. It is challenging people to form the shape of the 85258 numbers with their hands to create videos to upload on to social media platform with the hashtag #Shout85258. A Shout crisis volunteer will take over @KensingtonRoyal account on Saturday, and share videos in Instagram Stories and answer Q&As in support of the campaign.

Meanwhile, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle also joined via video call the Crisis Text Line US during their meeting on Thursday. The charity was launched in May 2019 by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after a three million pound investment from the Royal Foundation.