MAJORITY of the calls received through the Child Helpline this year related to negligence and physical abuse.
THE Child Helpline has received 352 genuine calls between April and June this year.
Medical Services Pacific (MSP) executive director Jennifer Poole said most of the urgent or genuine calls concerned a real request for help and assistance attributed to fear and anxiety, loneliness and depressive episodes being experienced.
“It must also be noted that loneliness, boredom, depression and lack of confidence can contribute to feelings of hopelessness and are indicators of a high risk for suicide,” Ms Poole said.
“The Child Helpline team recognises that these calls are indicators of the importance of awareness on mental health.”
Ms Poole said in support of this, MSP conducted mental health awareness and counseling during outreach visits to communities and schools.
She has also stressed that the MSP team can be booked on 3630108 if groups have identified individuals suffering from depression, abuse or neglect.
To date, there has been 62 suicide cases compared to 51 for the same period.
