Aart of Life Foundation Launches Suicide Hotline -0800healing

Chief Taiwo Taiwo

Disturbed and alarmed by the rising incidents of suicides and attempted suicides across the country, the Aart of Life Foundation, Nigeria’s pioneer Grief and Trauma Counselling Services since 2004, has announced a programme to provide counselling to Nigerians needing help.

Aart of Life is providing a toll free counselling hotline that people can call and unburden themselves in times of distress.

In a statement signed by Chief Taiwo Taiwo, president, Aart of Life Foundation, she stated: “We are developing a comprehensive programme to address this specific problem and in collaboration with our Partners, Psychiatrists and Clinical Psychologists of the School of Behavioral Sciences of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), we are pleased to announce our Aart of Life Counselling Hotline 0800healing (08004325464).”

Using the hotline, Aart of Life will provide counselling and support for those who are suicidal or anyone who has ever entertained suicidal thoughts; provide trauma counselling for those who have experienced or witnessed a violent, and/or life changing traumatic event.

Callers can receive, after the telephone counselling, one-on-one counselling by the NGO’s highly skilled and trained Counsellors at the Aart of Life Foundation offices on 12th Floor, Elephant House, 214, Broad Street, Lagos.

Aart of Life is committed to reaching bereaved and traumatized persons nationwide through telephone counselling, planned media campaigns to promote and publicize the counselling services, printing of Information Education and Communication (IEC) materials in the form of leaflets, handbills and posters, and monitoring and evaluating impact of telephone counselling programme.

It will also submit final reports highlighting accomplishments, impact, success stories, lessons learnt and challenges faced.

The Aart of Life Foundation is a not-for-profit established in September 2002 by Chief Taiwo Taiwo.

Aart, an acronym from the name Abioye Aronke Taiwo, is inspired by the life of Abioye Aronke Taiwo, Mrs Taiwo’s much loved 24-year-old daughter who died in a car accident on the notorious Sobo Arobiodu/Isaac John intersection of the G.R.A Ikeja, Lagos, on 19 April 2002.

The mission of the Foundation, in keeping with the values with which this remarkable young lady lived her short life, is “to promote and advance the virtues of love, kindness, compassion, charity, beauty, and sensitivity amongst all Nigerians, and especially amongst the young women of Abioye Aronke Taiwo’s generation.’