Support is only a phone call away. Joanne Cocks dials 179 to understand the service Aġenzija Appoġġ offers children and to make sure they do not abuse of it themselves.
A total of 247 parent-child relationship calls were among 5,177 received by Supportline 179 in the first six months of last year.
The parent-child relationships concerned issues of challenging behaviour from the minors and it was generally parents who called the supportline themselves.
The number of calls received by minors on Supportline 179 is very rarely related to children phoning to report their parents/guardians of abuse or neglect
There were no complaints registered about threats made by children to their parents.
Supportline 179 is a 24-hour free telephone service run by a team of professionally trained volunteers, offered by Aġenzija Appoġġ. It provides immediate, confidential support to callers of any age, who require assistance both in day-to-day and crisis situations.
The number of calls received by minors on Supportline 179 is very rarely related to children phoning to report their parents/guardians of abuse or neglect, even though Aġenzija Appoġġ does encourage children to seek help from Supportline 179 in genuine circumstances of abuse. Reports about child abuse are mostly made by adult third parties, such as relatives, friends or acquaintances, who are concerned about the children.
Aġenzija Appoġġ said it aims to work together with the parents and not against them, by supporting and promoting positive parenting and discipline. At the same time, Supportline 179 cannot take reports about child abuse lightly so such cases are referred to the appropriate services within the agency to investigate the allegations.
Supportline 179 deals with a wide range of problems, including domestic violence, child abuse, suicidal tendencies, loneliness, emotional difficulties, behavioural problems, substance abuse and gambling, among others.
Between January and June 2012, there were 5,104 calls by adults and 73 by children. This total of 5,177 is the number of genuine calls received (out of which 1,501 were made by male callers and 3,676 by females).
In the same period, there were 145 hoax calls registered, together with 1,793 hang-ups and 1,010 wrong numbers. This uses up valuable time that the volunteers can dedicate to answer genuine calls, possibly even taking calls from persons in an emergency situation.
Volunteers who receive calls on Supportline 179 are professionally trained and also benefit from the assistance of a professional, who is on call 24/7. They are trained to face very difficult calls and also to be able to identify whether the call is genuine or not.
Calls received on Supportline 179 are not investigated by the volunteers who take the calls, nor by its staff members. They are referred to Appoġġ’s Child Protection Services for the necessary investigation and action.
When a child abuse allegation is made against a parent either by the child or any other third party, it is treated as an allegation and not as a stated fact during the process of investigation
When a child abuse allegation is made against a parent either by the child or any other third party, it is treated as an allegation and not as a stated fact during the process of investigation by other professional staff. As part of the process of investigation, the social workers also meet with the parents and give them the opportunity to give theirversion of facts.
When a person calls Supportline 179, the volunteers listen to the callers and give them the necessary support. If the case involved requires specialised and long-term support, the volunteers will then take the caller’s details and refer them to other services offered by the Foundation for Social Welfare Services.
The reasons for genuine calls received between January and June 2012 included: listening, 1,031 calls; mental health, 483; loneliness 464; information services, 449; domestic violence, 219; child cbuse, 204; and others such as suicide, family issues, substance abuse, gambling, 2,327.