London, May 10 (AP) Princes William and Harry and their wives, Kate and Meghan, are joining forces to back a text messaging service to help people experiencing mental health problems.

Their Royal Foundation will provide a 3 million-pound (USD 3.9 million) grant to back the initiative called Shout.

The service is designed to help people with a wide range of problems including suicidal thoughts, relationship issues and bullying.

William said Friday the service "is free to use, anonymous, and operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week" and that the text conversations are handled by volunteers who have received online training and are monitored by a clinical team.

William says 60,000 people have already received help from the service. Both couples have lobbied for better treatment of mental health issues. (AP)

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