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If the Lagos state government had known that residents of the state would end up bombarding the helpline with calls of 'death', they would probably have not commissioned helplines for residents to call in if suicide cases walk on two legs or hibernate around them.
The lines were officially released to the public last Friday and by Wednesday this week, when Saturday Tribune checked with the operators, it was more than a ratio of 10 calls to a day, bringing the total to about 50 in about four working days. That surely must be a cause for concern.
According to findings by Nigerian Tribune, of the over 50 calls received, four were serious suicide cases while three, though dire, were from other states.
One of the therapists who spoke to Saturday Tribune under anonymity said, “We have met physically with the four callers after counselling them. Some of the callers access the helplines from outside Lagos, from states like Borno and Kano. Although their cases are dire, we could only counsel them.
The therapist stated that some of the calls were misdirected due to certain semantic undertone of the helpline.
“Some people call the helpline asking for financial help. Some call because they lost their jobs or got divorced. We direct these persons to the social services for attention.
“But we wish to enlighten the people that it is a helpline for emotional distress. We offer counselling services. After talking to a therapist, you can decide if you want to meet the therapist face to face. The problem is separating what these lines are meant to serve from what people think it is used for. But it is not to provide money for people”, he said.
The lines were officially released to the public last Friday and by Wednesday this week, when Saturday Tribune checked with the operators, it was more than a ratio of 10 calls to a day, bringing the total to about 50 in about four working days. That surely must be a cause for concern.
According to findings by Nigerian Tribune, of the over 50 calls received, four were serious suicide cases while three, though dire, were from other states.
One of the therapists who spoke to Saturday Tribune under anonymity said, “We have met physically with the four callers after counselling them. Some of the callers access the helplines from outside Lagos, from states like Borno and Kano. Although their cases are dire, we could only counsel them.
The therapist stated that some of the calls were misdirected due to certain semantic undertone of the helpline.
“Some people call the helpline asking for financial help. Some call because they lost their jobs or got divorced. We direct these persons to the social services for attention.
“But we wish to enlighten the people that it is a helpline for emotional distress. We offer counselling services. After talking to a therapist, you can decide if you want to meet the therapist face to face. The problem is separating what these lines are meant to serve from what people think it is used for. But it is not to provide money for people”, he said.
