Take a cue from Lifeline and maybe schedule some sort of time blocks. Put a few notes on the chat login page. It would be different since nobody would be needed for counseling, but it might help to find out which days and times people would like to be there. I often feel bad that locations in the world and schedules make it difficult for everyone who wants to be there cannot be there at the same time.

And I'll say it again. If people want there to be a social gathering in chat, they need to be willing to take the initiative themselves and go in, even if it is empty.