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AJET PEER SUPPORT GROUP (PSG)
The AJET Peer Support Group, or PSG for short, is a confidential and anonymous telephone listening and referral service operated for JETs by JETs.
AJET Peer Support Group (PSG) is available every night of the year from 8pm - 1am. PSG is a confidential and anonymous listening and referral service by JETs for JETs. They can be contacted via Microsoft Teams: AJET Peer Support Group (Search '[email protected]'). What sort of problems can a JET talk to PSG about? Anything at all! PSG Volunteers receive extensive training offering non-judgmental support for common issues in the JET community such as workplace stress, culture shock, and re-contracting decisions, but they are also equipped to offer some support to JETs on issues related to homesickness, depression, and relationships. PSG also frequently fields calls seeking practical information about life in Japan: English-speaking doctors, STI testing and sexual health, or legal assistance, to name only a few. Bottom line: There are no problems “too small” to call PSG with, even if you just want to speak English with someone at the end of a rough day. What exactly is meant by “Confidential and Anonymous”? Confidential: What you say to a PSG volunteer stays with PSG. While PSG is funded by National AJET, it does not report to it, Prefectural Advisors, or CLAIR. The only exception to this policy is PSG’s ethical obligation to seek outside assistance if someone voices an imminent threat to their own safety, or that of another person. Anonymous: When calling PSG, you will never be asked for your name or host prefecture, so you have complete control over how much you reveal about yourself. While we do keep some abstract data (like common problems, and how they’re resolved) for training purposes, names and phone numbers are not among them. And, anything you do share is covered by our confidentiality policy. For JETs by JETs? PSG recruits and trains its own volunteers. The volunteers are all JET Participants in their second-year or above, drawn from across Japan and a range of nationalities and prior experiences. They are carefully selected from a large pool of applicants, receive intensive training in listening and support skills, and practice them frequently with other volunteers to better support the JET community. PSG volunteers receive no payment or compensation of any kind for their services. How does it work? Easy! Any time from 8pm to 1am, you can message the PSG on Microsoft Teams, arrange a voice call, and speak to a volunteer about anything on your mind. Also, should you be unable to get an answer, it means that they may be busy, but please keep trying—the PSG line is absolutely never unstaffed during our operating hours. Non-JET SupportTokyo English Life Line (TELL)
Tokyo English Life Line (TELL) is a non-profit community service organization dedicated to helping foreigners with advice and counseling on the wide variety of problems them may run into living in Japan. TELL Lifeline is available via chat and phone during the hours below: Saturday 09:00 – Monday 23:00 (Continuous service) Tuesday – Thursday 09:00 – 23:00 Friday 09:00 – 02:00 Please keep in mind their telephone and chat service times slightly differ. Please check out the TELL website for more information! For free, anonymous telephone counseling: Toll Free Life Line 0800-300-8355 International Mental Health Professionals Japan (IMPHJ) IMHPJ is a multidisciplinary professional association of therapists who provide mental health services to the international communities in Japan. Founded in 1997, IMHPJ’s goals are to improve the quality, quantity, and accessibility of mental health services available to the international communities in Japan. Disaster Information Email Service The Kumamoto International Foundation has a mail magazine called Anshin Anzen (Safe and Secure). If you sign up for this free service, you will get monthly updates on disaster prevention and living information relevant to Kumamoto. You will also receive information about evacuations if such notices are issued. To sign up for the KIF Disaster Information Email Service, please do the following:
Japan Legal Support Center （法テラス） Provides FREE legal support (debt, divorce, labor, accidents, disasters, etc.) over the phone in English, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, or Tagalog. Available weekdays 9am – 5pm. For more information check out their website. To use the service follow these directions:
The International Center （国際交流会館） located in Kumamoto City also offers free legal consultation every 3rd Saturday of each month from 2-4pm. Reservations are required. TEL: 096-359-2121 Americans Overseas Domestic Violence Crisis Center The Americans Overseas Domestic Violence Crisis Center works with abused American women and children in foreign countries to provide domestic violence and child abuse advocacy resources and tools so that they can navigate the complicated jurisdictional legal and social international landscapes to be able to live their lives free of abuse either in the foreign country or back in the United States. For help, victims can call the Crisis Line, which is available from 175 countries internationally toll free via the AT&T USADirect access number. First, dial the access code for Japan: KDDI: 00-539-111 Softbank Telecom: 00-663-5111 NTT: 0034-811-001 Then dial the Crisis Line: 866-USWOMEN (866-879-6636) |
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