Fundació Ajuda i Esperança

Fundació Ajuda i Esperança (also branded Esperança en Línia) is a Catalan non-profit foundation based in Barcelona, Spain, dedicated to emotional support and suicide prevention. Its origins trace to 1969, when the Capuchin priest Miquel Àngel Terribas i Alamego launched the Telèfon de l'Esperança in Barcelona, an anonymous and free telephone service for people in emotional distress. The foundation itself was formally created in 1987 to oversee and sustain that helpline after the founder's death in 1986. The organisation's core activity is listening: trained volunteers answer calls and messages around the clock, offering non-judgmental, confidential companionship to people facing loneliness, anxiety, crisis or suicidal thoughts. According to its own website, the foundation handles roughly 153 calls and conversations per day, relies on about 408 volunteers, and operates seven emotional-support services. Its flagship service remains the Telèfon de l'Esperança, complemented by a suicide-prevention line and digital channels such as WhatsApp. Fundació Ajuda i Esperança is a private, non-profit entity governed by a Patronat (board of trustees). Its president has been Maria Rosa Buxarrais, a professor at the University of Barcelona's Faculty of Pedagogy specialising in values education. The foundation funds its work through donations, volunteering and a community of supporters, and it has been recognised publicly, receiving the Creu de Sant Jordi in 2009. While small in scale and rooted in Catalonia, the foundation is part of a broader movement to reduce the stigma around mental health. Its messaging emphasises that anyone can need support, and that help is available free of charge and anonymously. The brand is closely associated with the phrase "Sempre trobaràs una veu amiga" ("You will always find a friendly voice").

The story of Fundació Ajuda i Esperança begins in 1969, when Miquel Àngel Terribas i Alamego, a priest of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, founded the Telèfon de l'Esperança in Barcelona. The service was conceived as an immediate, anonymous and free point of contact for people experiencing emotional distress, loneliness or crisis. Terribas directed the helpline until his death in 1986. In 1987, one year after the founder's death, Fundació Ajuda i Esperança was formally created to supervise and continue the work of the Telèfon de l'Esperança. The foundation provided an institutional structure that allowed the helpline to keep operating and to expand its volunteer base and services over the following decades. By the 2000s the foundation had become a recognised reference in Catalonia for emotional support and mental-health awareness. In 2009 it received the Creu de Sant Jordi, one of the highest civil distinctions awarded by the Generalitat de Catalunya, in recognition of its social contribution. In recent years the foundation has modernised its outreach under the Esperança en Línia brand, adding digital channels such as WhatsApp alongside the traditional telephone line, and explicitly framing part of its work as suicide prevention. Its website reports around 153 calls and conversations per day, some 408 volunteers and seven emotional-support services, and describes more than half a century of continuous activity. The foundation continues to be governed by a Patronat, with Maria Rosa Buxarrais, a University of Barcelona pedagogy professor, serving as president.

• 2009

  The foundation receives the Creu de Sant Jordi.

• 1987

  Fundació Ajuda i Esperança is created to supervise the Telèfon de l'Esperança.

• 1986

  Founder Miquel Àngel Terribas i Alamego dies.

• 1969

  Miquel Àngel Terribas i Alamego founds the Telèfon de l'Esperança in Barcelona.

Free, anonymous, confidential emotional support and suicide prevention, delivered by trained volunteers 24 hours a day.

• Telèfon de l'Esperança

  24-hour free and anonymous emotional-support helpline (93 414 48 48).

• Suicide prevention line

  Dedicated telephone service for people at risk of suicide.

• WhatsApp support

  Digital messaging channel for emotional support.

1. 1Inici - Fundación Ajuda i Esperançaesperancaenlinia.org
2. 2Acompanyament emocional - Fundación Ajuda i Esperançaesperancaenlinia.org
3. 3Fundació Ajuda i Esperança - Viquipèdiaca.wikipedia.org
4. 4Fundació Ajuda i Esperança - Wikidatawikidata.org