About McGill Students’ Nightline

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Who can call in?

We are primarily an English service and are cannot currently accept calls in French or any other language.

We are working to expand our services to French speakers, and offer a French chatting service every Wednesday.

Although our main callers are McGill students, anyone and everyone can call us!

Can you give me advice?

McGill Students’ Nightline is a confidential, anonymous, and non-judgmental listening service run by McGill students.

We aim to provide the community with non-professional support in all kinds of situations. We can help callers find information, offer guidance during a crisis, or an empathetic space to share your experiences and emotions. 

Is what we talk about confidential?

Protecting the confidentiality of our callers and chatters is one of our highest priorities.

The only situations we may have to breach confidentiality is if you are in immediate danger of harming yourself or others, or if it is the abuse of a child is reported as likely or as taking place.

In these cases, it is our legal obligation to report the information you share with us to emergency services as we are a non-professional, student-based active listening service.

In specific circumstances where you may be at risk of harm to yourself or others, we will connect you to Tracom. Tracom is a crisis centre and is better equipped to meet your needs in the case of crisis intervention.

We still welcome every call made to our service and look forward to hearing from you.

In all other situations, our callers and chatters’ confidentiality and anonymity will be protected with the utmost care. 

If I’ve called in before, can we pick up where we left off?

To protect your anonymity, and the anonymity of our volunteers, we treat each call like a new call. In this light, we are remain an active listening service, and our volunteers are happy to hear your story, regardless of whether you’ve told it before.

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Can I call you for for information about something?

We are here to help you find the answer to pretty much any question you can think of.

Whether that’s directions, have questions about an academic policy, or want to know how to bake the perfect lasagna, we can help you out!

Additionally, we can offer referrals to a multitude of McGill and Montreal services. Feel free to ask us for anything from a pizza delivery number to a Montreal drop-in clinic.

Can I call just to talk?

Sometimes friends give too much advice, sometimes you might feel uncomfortable talking to those around you, and sometimes you really just want something to be kept confidential.

That’s okay, and that’s why we’re here!

If you’re stressed out about school, or maybe you find yourself really missing home, give us a call—we’re here to listen and help you work through whatever you’re feeling.

can you help me in a crisis?

A crisis is any situation where you feel overwhelmed and may not know what to do.

Some examples include a sudden loss in your life, an uncomfortable drug trip, and sexual assault.

Even though we are students who are not professionally trained, please give us a call if you experience anything that feels out of your control.

We will do our best to support you, no matter what life might throw your way, whether that be with empathetic active listening or grounding exercises, information on professional resources, and in some cases, connection to a specialized crisis centre.

Is that all I can call about?

Please note that while these three points are a convenient way of describing our service, we really do take calls about absolutely anything! So no matter what’s on your mind, pick up the phone- we’re here for you.

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