FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Got questions about our helpline? You’ve come to the right place! Please reach out to us here if we haven’t answered your question.

• How do your Helpline Officers help service users?

  Our Helpline Team are trained to provide emotional and active listening support to service users that may be upset, struggling, in distress or just need someone to turn to. Our Helpline Team will listen to you, guide you and support you in reaching your own conclusions. Often this may mean helping you recognise that you would benefit from further and specialist support, and signposting you accordingly.

• Is the helpline confidential?

  MYH offers a safe and confidential space for all those who access our services. Regardless of whether you are calling us, e-mailing in, or using webchat, you can be assured that the information you provide will remain confidential and won’t be shared outside of MYH.
  In some exceptional circumstances MYH may have to break that confidentiality, such as, if we believe you are in danger of harming yourself or others, but we will always be transparent when this occurs. We encourage you to speak with our Helpline Team if you have any questions about confidentiality that you’d like to discuss before accessing our services.

• Is it free to contact the helpline?

  Calls made from a landline are free within England, Wales and Scotland. Our number is free to call from most mobile networks; however, we encourage you to double check with your provider first. MYH also offers a call back service, so you could request for us to call you on your number.

• What information do I need to provide when contacting the helpline and why?

  Once you get through to our helpline, our Helpline Team will ask you for demographics such as your age, location and ethnicity. This is so we can get a better understanding of the profile of our service users and use the information to improve our service. You are under no obligation to provide this information to access our service.

  Our Team may also ask you for a name or alias. This is so we can identify you and provide an effective service if you choose to contact us more than once.
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  All information is kept according to the Data Protection Act 2018.

• What if I do not want my data stored?

  If you do not want your data to be stored, you can tell your helpline officer during your chat. If you decide afterwards that you do not want your data to be stored, you can utilise one of our chat functions, or email us at info@myh.org.uk, while providing the date, along with the name or alias you provided for us.

• Can I call more than once? ​

  Our Helpline Team work on a case by case basis and understand that the needs of every service user will differ from one another. Depending on your needs, you may be encouraged to access the service again or you may be signposted to a trusted organisation if you require more specialist support.

  Due to our current call volume, we limit calls to once per day.

• Can I speak to the same Helpline Officer if I call back?

  MYH can’t guarantee that the same Helpline Officer will be available to speak to you on and neither do we encourage speaking to the same Helpline Officer. All of our Helpline Officers are trained to the same standards, and the information that you provide us (e.g your name or an alias) helps us maintain an effective case management system that ensures the details of your previous interactions on the helpline can be seen by any of our Helpline Officers. This means you can pick-up the conversation from where you left off with any of our Helpline Team.

• How is MYH different from other Helplines?

  Whilst the concerns that MYH deal with are no different from most other helplines in the UK, MYH is able to provide its service users with faith and culturally sensitive support – something that mainstream services are still unable to provide. Many of our service users are reluctant to call mainstream services for fear of being discriminated against and misunderstood, and we address this by building the confidence of our service users to access mainstream services when they need specialist support.

• Does MYH provide religious advice?

  MYH is a faith and culturally sensitive organisation but we do not provide religious advice or guidance. Our Helpline Team will signpost you to more appropriate services, including qualified religious scholars, if you benefit from religious advice and guidance.

• What if I want religious advice?

  We recognise that some service users do seek religious advice and support. In these cases we signpost you to more appropriate services, including qualified religious scholars, if you are seeking religious advice or guidance on such matters.

  We respond to requests for religious guidance in the same way we would for specialist guidance on any matter such as drugs rehabilitation or psychological counselling by signposting clients to specialists.

• Why doesn’t MYH give Islamic guidance?

  Our helpline officers are trained in active listening, and providing compassionate support. Faith is often a personal journey and matter, and while we remain a culturally- and faith-sensitive helpline, we are not qualified to answer and provide religious guidance based on our personal understandings of faith. Instead, we can help with any underlying issues that accompany the faith-based questions, and signpost to trusted Imams and religious scholars who are qualified to provide Islamic guidance.

  Many of our service users struggle to talk to family or friends for a whole range of reasons such as fear, embarrassment and stigma. This is why we believe that the person on the other end of the phone deserves empathy, compassion and a listening ear first and foremost. We are proud to offer you and all our service users that safe space through our helpline.

• What is the difference between signposting and referrals?

  MYH can signpost or refer its users depending on their need. Signposting is when our staff or volunteers can provide you with information on another provider that is most relevant to your concern. Signposting happens when our trained staff and volunteers assess if your concern falls outside the remit of our work and that another organization would be more suitable to your needs.

  ​A referral is when we feel our user will benefit from us directly supporting them to connect to another provider. MYH can make referrals to other organizations in cases such as safeguarding concerns.

• How does the WebChat work?

  Using the web chat is like using any other chat tool on the internet. You can connect to our chat via our main website in two ways:

  1. By clicking on the small chat link at the bottom right of any of our webpages.
  2. Through the “Chat With Us” page. When you click on the icon you are asked to enter some basic details to help us better understand your background.
• I would prefer to email you. When should I expect a reply for my email?

  If you would prefer to email us, you can get in touch with us on help@myh.org.uk. One of our Helpline Officers will respond to you between 1-3 working days.

• I have a complaint to make, how do I do this?

  We’re sorry that our services weren’t up to your standards today. MYH take all complaints and feedback seriously and we aim to provide our service users with a better service. Please raise any complaints to info@myh.org.uk with the subject heading: FEEDBACK. We will respond to you within 7 working days. You can also access our feedback form here, and tell us how we can improve our service and your experience.