Social Insurance Board (SKA) figures reveal a continuing significant need for online and phone-based support, with victim support lines fielding nearly 1,000 contacts a month in the first half of 2026.

People most often seek help with loneliness, anxiety and relationship or family problems. Starting Friday, they can also call 126 to speak with a chaplain.

Estonia's chaplain hotline was first launched in June 2020, the first year of the COVID pandemic, as a crisis measure coordinated by the nonprofit Tartu Academy of Theology (TTA).

Director Siimon Haamer said demand quickly exceeded expectations, reaching 600–700 calls a month by the end of 2020. The nonprofit also received additional funding from the Social Affairs Ministry as their partnership continued.

"By the end of March 2022, we were already getting around 1,000 calls a month, with another 1,000 unable to even get through because there was still only one chaplain on duty at a time," Haamer recalled.

Merged, then cut

SKA merged the chaplain hotline with its mental health support line in 2023, but budget cuts ended dedicated chaplain counseling the following summer after data showed relatively little demand for it. Even so, the service logged more than 3,000 calls in 2024, more than four-fifths from repeat callers.

When fellow nonprofit Hingeabi Assotsiatsioon Usaldus ended its own long-running helpline last year, it passed the familiar 126 short code number to the chaplain hotline.

Hingeabi Assotsiatsioon Usaldus council member Avo-Rein Tereping said the organization had been looking for a new operator for the helpline, which he described as unique in Europe for its three-digit number. The chaplain service was a natural fit because its approach is compatible with the principles of a traditional helpline.

"It essentially remains a helpline that people can call when they have a problem," Tereping added.

From 7 p.m. to midnight

Starting Friday, September 25, volunteers will take calls at the number 126 every night from 7 p.m. to midnight. Haamer said the schedule will be covered by about 30 professionally trained chaplains.

"Picking up the phone is much easier," the director acknowledged. "You aren't there with your face and name, and it's an anonymous way to seek and ask for help."

He added that the hotline also eases access to support because people can call from anywhere. Even so, it now has to get by on a much tighter budget than before.

The service previously received nearly a quarter of a million euros a year from the Ministry of Social Affairs. Its annual budget is now €25,000, with the costs covered by the Tartu Academy of Theology.

Anne Randväli, head of the ministry's Department of Mental Health, said the state has instead concentrated funding on maintaining the nationwide Ohvriabi victim support hotline 116 006 and emotional support hotline 116 123.

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