Tuesday September 20, 2011

Desperate cries for help from the young

KUALA LUMPUR: Loneliness, depression, boredom and being bullied by others.

These are among the grievances of young people who called the Talian Nur helpline run by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry.

Project director P.H. Wong said most callers were teenagers.

“We receive calls from children as well,” she added.

Wong said the youngest caller who sought help via the Talian Nur 15999 line was a five-year-old.

“Parents do not know how to cope with their children’s issues,” she said.

Ministry secretary-general Datuk Dr Noorul Ainur Mohd Nur said children’s psycho-social and mental health issues topped the list of calls received by Talian Nur from November last year to August.

Of the 4,421 calls logged-in and directed to the childline during the period, those relating to psycho-social and mental health made up 1,742 calls, she told a press conference yesterday.

Dr Noorul said other calls included those relating to abuse and violence (900), family relationships (216) and peer relationships (166).

There were 687 enquiries.

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