Centre inudated with calls
THE mental health of Fijians is taking a direct hit from the prolonged COVID-19 crisis, local NGOs say.
Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre co-ordinator Shamima Ali said the number of people seeking psychosocial support from their organisation was increasing.
“We are getting increased calls from Suva as well as from the Western Division – Ba, Nadi, Lautoka and so on,” she said.
“There are men and women calling in who have lost their jobs, there are those who have no food to provide for their family, mortgages to pay, they can’t pay their bills, so there is a lot of tension.”
Ms Ali said they were also approached by people who did not understand enough about the vaccine.
“They don’t understand about how this virus is caught and where they can go and where they can’t go.
“So because of this, there is a lot of fear, a lot of confusion in them.
“These are the people who are also accessing our helplines.
“Our counsellors are working from home and they are able to talk to them.
“For men who are going through family problems, they are being referred to five lines that are being handled by five of our male advocates who are specially trained to talk to them.
“Those are men who are not comfortable talking to women on their issues.”
Save The Children Fiji has also confirmed getting calls from people who need psychosocial support.
CEO Shairana Ali said they referred these to relevant authorities.
“For such cases, we have taken them into consideration when prioritising families in need of food assistance,” said Ms Ali.
“We also do referrals to relevant authorities such as law enforcement and counselling agencies.”