Crisis helpline started for suicide prevention
A 24X7 crisis helpline for prevention of suicide was inaugurated by mayor Sunil Uniyal Gama on Thursday. The helpline is an initiative by the Pari Foundation to prevent suicides especially among youngsters.
The mayor while inaugurating the helpline said that earlier there was no requirement for rehabilitation centres and such helpline numbers but sadly these days such aids are needed considerably.
He said that while becoming a hub for education, Dehradun has become a hub of drug abuse too. Hence, it is a perturbing issue which needs to be resolved immediately. While talking about increasing suicide rates in the country, he said that increase in competition for better grades and better cell phones is one of the main reasons why children are falling into depression and eventually committing suicides.
The director of Pari welfare society, Dr Sona Kaushal Gupta further explained the importance of the helpline.
She said that according to official data of Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) a suicide is committed every 40 seconds in the world. She said that it is the second leading cause of death in 15-29 year-olds.
“When I get phone calls after a suicide is committed, I feel that it has to be prevented before it happens, there is no point talking about it later,” she said.
She also said that the other person at times needs to be heard. This is the time when we must give helping hand to him/her.
Gupta said here the problem is that nobody knows how to deal with such children and adults. She said it is very important to talk to children and be with them if they are in that suicidal zone. Further, she said that the government and the public both must connect with this initiative and take it forward. Doon International School chairman DS Mann, Uttarakhand medical service selection board chairman Dr DS Rawat and others were also present on the occasion.
Friday, 29 November 2019 | PNS | Dehradun
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