A new toll-free line, Let’s Chat Yukon, has launched for Yukoners seeking conversation and connection during this time of isolation.

“I’m hoping it brings a little bit of light to the darkness that’s been going on,” Amy Labonte, Let’s Chat Yukon dispatcher, told the Star.

Let’s Chat Yukon was organized by Labonte, NDP Leader Kate White and Michael Pealow.

Yukoners who would like to participate are invited to call the toll-free number and leave their contact information.

Labonte will then connect the caller with a “volunteer chatter” who will reach out to the caller for some friendly conversation.

Yukoners can also call the line to volunteer themselves, or be connected to a certified counsellor through the Yukon government’s mental wellness programs.

Since going live on Wednesday, Let’s Chat Yukon has already brought 20 volunteers on board and started fielding its first calls this morning.

White said some parameters have been set for volunteers, who have been instructed not to share personal information and to report any inappropriate conversations.

White brought Labonte on board to manage the phone line, knowing Labonte has lived the experience of self-isolation that preceded the pandemic.

Labonte and her son, who has cystic fibrosis, distance themselves regularly, and she said she understands how challenging it can be to stay connected while physically distant.

“This is in our wheelhouse a little bit,” Labonte said.

“It can be tough, it’s tough on your mental and emotional state. You feel like you have to emotionally distance, and you don’t, and that darkness sets in and you forget to reach out to the people who are there to support us through that.”

The idea for the phone line was generated after White hosted a telephone town hall on March 31 to answer constituent questions about the pandemic.

One caller participating in the town hall explained that she had been feeling lonely while in isolation. White asked the caller to leave her phone number, and offered to call regularly.

“Something I recognized, is people right now are missing that human connection,” White said.

Michael Pealow was listening in on the telephone town hall, and had circumstantially already been researching how to set up a toll-free telephone line for a project at work.

He reached out to White following the call, and offered his tech services to set up the toll-free line.

“It was, in many ways, a happy coincidence.… Two and two came together,” Pealow told the Star.

“The territory is small but it’s big in a lot of ways, so I’m hoping that Yukoners, even though we’re self-isolating, will get a chance to feel a little less alone and meet new people.

“We’ll come out of this eventually, and I’m looking forward to hearing some stories about people who met on Let’s Chat Yukon.”

Labonte described Pealow as “the brains” of the project, adding she was eager to jump on board when White offered the project to her.

“Hopefully, people utilize the support that’s out there, and we remember that we’re all apart right now but we need to stand together,” Labonte said.

Yukoners interested in joining Let's Chat Yukon can call 1-877-321-1001 or 867-322-2772.