mental-health administrative_barrier ai_generated true

AI tells someone in a mental health crisis in Turkey to call 'Alo 182' for suicide-prevention or psychological support

ID: mental-health/alo182-repurposed-not-crisis-line

Also available as: JSON · Markdown
75%Fix Rate
70%Confidence
3Evidence
2026-08-31First Seen

Version Compatibility

VersionStatusIntroducedDeprecatedNotes
any active — — —

Root Cause

Turkey operated a dedicated suicide-prevention line, 'Alo 182 Umut Işığı Hattı' (Hope Light Line), until it was discontinued in 2008 for budget reasons. Since then, the Ministry of Health has repurposed the 182 number entirely: the Ministry's own current page for it is titled 'Alo 182 - Merkezi Hastane Randevu Sistemi' (Central Hospital Appointment System) and makes no mention of psychological or crisis support. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's Turkey mental-health-abroad guidance likewise lists no dedicated Turkish mental-health crisis hotline, pointing instead to the general emergency number 112 (which may not have English-speaking operators) or a Turkish-only list of mental health centres.

generic

Workarounds

  1. 75% success For an active crisis or medical emergency, call 112 (Turkey's single emergency number, free from any phone) and ask for an ambulance 
    112 dispatches police, fire, and ambulance nationwide; be prepared for the possibility the operator does not speak English.

    Sources: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/turkey-mental-health-support-abroad

  2. 55% success For non-emergency social/family support in multiple languages, use Alo 183 (Ministry of Family and Social Services), which offers Turkish, Kurdish, and Arabic support and can refer callers onward

    Sources: https://alo183.aile.gov.tr/

Dead Ends

Common approaches that don't work:

  1. Direct someone in a mental health crisis in Turkey to call 'Alo 182' for psychological support or suicide prevention 70% fail

    Alo 182 ('Umut Işığı Hattı', Hope Light Line) was a genuine Ministry of Health suicide-prevention hotline, but it was shut down in 2008 for cost reasons. The Ministry of Health's own current page for the number, titled 'Alo 182 - Merkezi Hastane Randevu Sistemi', shows it has been repurposed into the Central Hospital Appointment System (MHRS) - calling it during a crisis reaches an appointment-booking service, not psychological support.

  2. Assume Turkey has an easily findable, English-language dedicated mental health crisis hotline comparable to 988 in the US or 111 in the UK 55% fail

    The UK government's own Turkey mental-health-support-abroad guidance names no dedicated Turkish crisis hotline; it directs people to the general emergency number 112 (noting not all operators speak English) or to a Turkish-only list of mental health centres, and recommends contacting the British consulate for non-emergency guidance.