Northeast NGO launches mental health helpline for Corona warriors

At a time when the novel Coronavirus is in full swing in India, the country’s NGOs are stepping forward in large numbers to fight against this crisis. One such NGO is Global Pandemic Response Forum (GPRF), which is based in Guwahati. It’s Dhara Helpline is aimed to support corona warriors such as medical people, police personnel, and all those serving the society in times of crisis. The mental health helpline is seen as a major development in India’s fight against COVID-19.

Keeping in mind the fact that these corona warriors work day in and day out, away from their family and friends to keep the society safe, this helpline was launched. They also go for fourteen days quarantine after the duty. What happens during this period is excessive workload, stress, and anxiety impact their mental health.

“At GPRF, we quickly realised the need for a mental health support system for our corona warriors. We decided upon a telephonic helpline, as it would be the most efficient counselling delivery tool, when isolation protocols are in place,” said Dharitri Nath, who heads the Project, who further disclosed their plan to add more languages and open for the general public across India.

In order to help these warriors, GPRF launched the Dhara Helpline in English and Assamese languages. Over the time, many other languages such as Bodo, Hindi, Marathi, Khasi, and Bengali speaking counsellors were added. They are not stopping here, with an aim to add other Indian and foreign languages in the days to come.

Dhara helpline consists of a team of 70+ psychologists from all over India. They are currently in the process of hiring more to serve Corona warriors with even better ease. What’s special about the helpline is that all the counsellors are working from home, making huge contributions to the cause.

The Dhara helpline number, +91 92054 67567 is currently available 22 hours a day from 4 am to 2 am.