The Forum of Australian Services to Survivors of Torture and Trauma has launched Witness to War, a free and confidential multilingual telephone hotline for people in Australia affected by overseas conflicts.
Staffed by mental health practitioners and bicultural support workers, Witness to War offers community members incidental counselling, information about available support, and connections to other local services.
Witness to War staff can speak to callers in Arabic, Hebrew, Dari, Ukrainian and English and in other languages with an interpreter.
Witness to War operates from Monday to Friday across Australia:
- ACT, NSW, VIC, TAS: 10am – 7pm
- South Australia: 9:30am – 6:30pm
- Queensland: 9am – 6pm
- Northern Territory: 8:30am – 5:30pm
- Western Australia: 7am – 4pm
Call Witness to War on (free call) 1800 845 198
For media enquiries about Witness to War, contact:
Jorge Aroche
Chief Executive Officer
NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS)
jorge.aroche@health.nsw.gov.au