It was a cold winter’s day when Shen, 74, who lives alone in Huangpu District, collapsed at home.

He managed to find the strength to make one phone call. It was to the Xinyue Xiyang psychosocial hotline center on Nanchang Road.

When later asked why he called the hotline instead of the usual emergency number at a life-and-death moment, he said: “Because I often receive phone calls from them and feel cared for.”

Xinyue Xiyang opened its first hotline in 2008 and has since expanded to 10 subdistricts.

More than 370,000 seniors have received psychosocial services, including about 2,000 serious cases.

The psychosocial approach looks at the psychological factors and social environment that influence an individual’s physical and mental health.

The hotline acts as a bridge between some 1,000 volunteers, also seniors, and lonely elderly people in the district.

The hotline staff don’t sit around waiting for phone calls. They proactively phone seniors on a regular basis to see how they are doing, Pu Jun, director of the counseling station, said.

The Ruijin No. 2 Road Subdistrict was the first to trial the service. It has a thick book containing contact information of 1,080 seniors living alone in 16 neighborhoods. The book is worn from constant use.

Every working day, volunteers make 50 calls, with each senior receiving at least one a month. The book logs details such as hearing problems and language difficulties.

Names crossed out indicate people who have died.

Huangpu is one of Shanghai’s most aging districts. At the end of last year, it had 326,100 people 60 years or older, accounting for nearly two-fifths of the population. Of that number, 6.5 percent were aged 80 years or older.

Zhu Meiling, 72, is among the center’s first volunteers. She was once a factory worker and wasn’t content to do nothing in retirement. “Instead of dancing or playing mahjong, I wanted to do something meaningful,” she explained.

When on duty, she sits in front of a phone in the center and starts making calls.

“Hello! This is the counseling office. How have you been lately?” she asks in Shanghai dialect. “Oh, it’s nothing important. I just want you to take good care of yourself on these hot days. Keep in a good mood and have a nice day. Bye!”

The call is noted in the book, with any pertinent details added. If a senior doesn’t pick up the phone for some time, a volunteer goes to check.

In 2007, several seniors in Huangpu committed suicide because of serious depression. That was the impetus in the formation of the hotline.

“Their financial situation was good and they lived in the most downtown area,” Pu said of the deaths. “Many people could not understand why they committed suicide.”

“Seniors in both urban and rural areas face the problem of loneliness, but they are different,” he said. “In Shanghai’s countryside, seniors have people nearby to chat with, while in urban areas, the elderly often keep themselves to themselves and are locked in their own lonely worlds.”

There is the case of a retired woman who wanted to commit suicide because of family difficulties. Her husband died and her daughters treated her with indifference.

It was volunteer Guan Peimei, 72, who helped the women back from the abyss.

“I listened to what she had to say, comforted her and offered some advice,” said Guan.

“I kept in contact with her. I tell seniors to call the hotline whenever they feel the need. The hotline is always open, ready to give them a sense of caring, security and warmth.”

Zhu Meimei, 79, the oldest of the volunteer team, said seniors and volunteers become friends, even family. “I open my heart to them and they open their hearts to me,” she said.