Special kids’ helpline at Nimhans to drive away COVID-19 blues

The Karnataka State Integrated Child Protection Scheme will soon launch a dedicated children’s helpline to address their psycho-social needs, especially during COVID-19 crisis.

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Operational by this weekend, the helpline has been funded by the United Nations Childen's Fund (UNICEF) and supported by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Nimhans).

According to sources, keeping in mind the cross-section of people from across the state, counselling will be done in Kannada and two trained counsellors will initially attend the calls.

Confirming the move, Pallavi Akkurathi, Director, Karnataka State Integrated Child Protection Scheme, told DH: "We felt the need for an exclusive helpline as the chances of child abuse are high during crises like this and perhaps cases go unreported.”

Over 400 children were admitted to child care institutes in Karnataka in March and April. At the same time, more than 50% of children in these institutions are sent home to reduce the risk of COVID-19.

"Our counsellors will talk to them and motivate them regularly. Children in shelter homes are provided with all personal protection equipment (PPE). We conduct activities regularly to keep them engaged,” she added.

However, she feels that the unprecedented crisis has made them anxious. “So we came up with this plan to support those children who are vulnerable and in need of help,” she said.

Akkurathi said though the existing kids' helpline, Childlike (1098), remains popular, it caters to a different set of problems. The focus of the new helpline will be on providing them with emotional support, she added.

"At personal, academic and family levels, children now have several unanswered questions. Interventions like this are critical in the time of crisis,” said Sonykutty George, Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF.

Dr K Sekar, Registrar, Nimhans, said the COVID-19 Mental Health Helpline gets around 12,000 calls per day from across the country and a good proportion of the calls is from children and parents.

"It is crucial to have a dedicated helpline for them. We have developed simple, practical tips to address their challenges apart from lending emotional support to handle the crisis. We are catering to the needs of children in four different age groups,” he said.

"Children, who form nearly 40% of the population, are at a higher risk now due to many reasons: child-parent relationships might suffer, child abuse might be much higher and adolescents might have emotional issues. The situation is grave for those who are in difficult situations like the ones with disabilities and those who are in conflict with the law,” Dr Sekar added.