UNICEF in partnership with the Ministry of Social Affairs offer Psychosocial Support
Free helpline 123 launched to offer psychosocial support through partnership between UNICEF and Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing (SoZaVo) has worked together with a number of important partners to provide psychosocial help in our country during the COVID-19 pandemic. This process has been developed with the cooperation of the Ministry of Health, the Social Workers' Association in Suriname (VSWS) and the Surinamese Association of Psychologists and Special Education (SVPO) and UNICEF.
According to SoZaVo director Angela Salmo, one of the tasks of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing is to provide intangible assistance. So this is a fact with the provision of psychosocial help. A corps of social workers is deployed to provide assistance, which provides first-line assistance and, on the basis of the demand for help and necessity, a referral can be made to specialists (including psychologists and remedial educationalists).
The assistance is offered to people who return to Suriname and are placed in quarantine and citizens (community) affected by COVID-19 measures (e.g. people stay at home; have lost part of their income or lost their job; difficult domestic conditions; have to deal with stress, etc.).
As of Thursday, April 30, help will be available at number 123, known as the Children's and Youth telephone line. Calls can be made between 08:00 - 16:00hrs. Under the current circumstances, this line is not only for children and young people, but also adults. With regard to the interior, the ministry is working on further elaboration with the Medical Mission to develop an algorithm. In addition to calling, one can also email via the websites: www.bel123.org or www.ikbensuriname.com or send a message via the Facebook page of the children's and youth telephone. The possibility to be able to Whatsapp, whereby the assistance can be offered 24hrs, is still being developed and as soon as it is available, the community will be informed.
For more information and this and other initiatives please follow The Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing
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UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.
For more information about UNICEF and its work for children, visit www.unicef.org or www.unicef.org/guyanasuriname
