Over the past year, there was a sharp increase in the number of calls made by teens into Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) helpline from 12 to 3 am. But with a shortage of volunteers manning the helpline during this time, SOS needed support to help these teens get through their dark times.

#ThroughTheNight was an Instagram-led campaign that reached out to troubled youth during Midnight to 3 am. When the nation winds down for the night, our platform of hope stayed open.

Giving our youth a virtual space where they can find illustrations, quotes, songs and even personal stories contributed by others. Making them feel that they are not alone, even in the darkest hours.

For most of us, the night is a calm and comforting place. A time for rest. But for some, the night is a daunting place. Where they feel more alone than ever as the world around them goes silent. #ThroughTheNight was a social movement that called upon the nation to reach out to troubled teens during 12 to 3 am, on a platform where they are most active – Instagram.

On World Suicide Prevention Day, Samaritans of Singapore launched a hashtag that was filled with inspiring content from influencers, artists and musicians. These content included personal stories on the topic of suicide, illustrations that brought hope, motivational quotes. And within 24 hours, the nation joined the cause by sharing their own content and stories.

Throughout Suicide Prevention Week, the number of contributions rose and messages of gratitude and encouragement were left in response to the posts. In just a week, SOS received hundreds of posts consisting of illustrations, quotes, original music compositions, comic strips, personal stories, messages of encouragement and even an ice-cream flavour named “Hope”. This simple social campaign rallied the nation through a single hashtag. Helping teens find comfort to get #ThroughTheNight.