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<span style="font-weight: bold">Adult callers flood suicide hotline</span>2011-04-26 18:03:56 |
Debbie-Ann Wright, Assistant News Editor
<span style="font-weight: bold">Just over a week after the education ministry set up a suicide hotline for troubled teens, it appears that adult callers are overwhelming the network. </span>
The hotline: 1-888-429-5273, was <span style="font-weight: bold">set up by the ministry in response to the increase in child suicides. </span>
Through the hotline, the ministry aims to provide counselling and other assistance to students experiencing stressful situations or dealing with depression and other emotional challenges.
However, director of communications at the education ministry, Colin Blair, <span style="font-weight: bold">said the ministry is concerned that the large number of calls from adults could be crowding out student calls. </span><span style="font-style: italic">He said adults should use other similiar facilities geared towards general adult issues.</span>
The 24-hour child hotline provided by LIME is manned by trained counsellors and associates of the Ministry of Education.
The ministry said all calls are being treated with the utmost confidentiality.
The hotline is one of several measures being initiated by the Ministry of Education to respond to the needs of students.
The ministry is also reviewing its standard operating policy, in respect of its response to crises, to determine how it can be improved.
In addition, it is developing a method of identifying and tracking children at risk of committing suicide, so that it can employ early intervention.
The Ministry of Education has bought more than a thousand copies of the book ‘Confronting Suicide: Helping Teens at Risk’, for distribution to schools.
Teachers being trained to apply the techniques and principles outlined in the book, to enable its effective use in schools.
[email protected]
Debbie-Ann Wright, Assistant News Editor
<span style="font-weight: bold">Just over a week after the education ministry set up a suicide hotline for troubled teens, it appears that adult callers are overwhelming the network. </span>
The hotline: 1-888-429-5273, was <span style="font-weight: bold">set up by the ministry in response to the increase in child suicides. </span>
Through the hotline, the ministry aims to provide counselling and other assistance to students experiencing stressful situations or dealing with depression and other emotional challenges.
However, director of communications at the education ministry, Colin Blair, <span style="font-weight: bold">said the ministry is concerned that the large number of calls from adults could be crowding out student calls. </span><span style="font-style: italic">He said adults should use other similiar facilities geared towards general adult issues.</span>
The 24-hour child hotline provided by LIME is manned by trained counsellors and associates of the Ministry of Education.
The ministry said all calls are being treated with the utmost confidentiality.
The hotline is one of several measures being initiated by the Ministry of Education to respond to the needs of students.
The ministry is also reviewing its standard operating policy, in respect of its response to crises, to determine how it can be improved.
In addition, it is developing a method of identifying and tracking children at risk of committing suicide, so that it can employ early intervention.
The Ministry of Education has bought more than a thousand copies of the book ‘Confronting Suicide: Helping Teens at Risk’, for distribution to schools.
Teachers being trained to apply the techniques and principles outlined in the book, to enable its effective use in schools.
[email protected]