Help suicide helplines first

AHMEDABAD/SURAT/VADODARA: Forty-six suicide incidents in 80 days! This piece of news has shocked all and sundry in the state that is grappling with depression and frustration woes.
The shocker, however, does not seem enough to goad the authorities into action and infuse life back into the helpline at New Civil Hospital in Surat that was started a few months ago to counsel people with suicidal tendencies.
Before the helpline could actually take off and serve its purpose, the helpline died its natural death with no one to run the helpline as the doctor concerned had left the place!
This, in effect, means that Surat, with a population of over 30 lakh and suicides galore, what with its large labour force, has not a single helpline to counsel people in cases of depression - leaving the victims in the lurch.
"We get around 35 cases every month where people, mostly poor, come with money-related problems. There is need to better the system to tackle the city''s mental health scenario where people are increasingly taking to suicide" says Geeta Shroff, president of Apmrityu Nivaran Sangh, an organisation working for woman''s welfare.
In Vadodara, too, there is not a single dedicated suicide helpline. Two 24-hour helplines for women and children in distress, which are run by NGOs claim they have seen considerable success in averting suicides.
Childline (1098), run by Baroda Citizens'' Council (BCC), and Aneri (1091), run by Olakh, assert that the helplines are effective.
Experts, however feel that the increasing number of suicides is alarming and needs immediate attention.
Psychiatrists rue the fact that the city lacks a dedicated suicide line and the lack of awareness among people about the existing helplines.
Says psychiatrist Gautam Amin, "Helplines can prove to be very useful to counsel people contemplating suicide. The suicidal tendency has three phases. The first phase in which the person has a passing thought of committing suicide, which is followed by frequent thoughts and planning begins and the last phase is that of implementation. Timely counselling can help people passing through the first two phases from progressing to the third phase. A helpline can effectively pull them out of this depression if tackled early."
In Ahmedabad, Saath, suicide prevention helpline has been working for the past couple of years. Its founder-director Anju Sheth said that two to three people with suicidal tendencies call up the centre everyday to seek intervention.
Saath has 40 volunteers who may or may not have a baseline educational qualification or clinical experience to handle mental health patients but undergo a rigorous three-day training programme that, Sheth says, is enough to equip them to handle cases of people showing suicidal tendencies.
"What our volunteers excel is in listening therapy", Sheth says.
She agrees that the present scenario in Gujarat is extremely grave and requires more than just awaiting people to call on the helpline.
"We understand that reaching out to the community is the need of the hour and we are already working on plans to reach out to communities in Bapunagar, Naroda and other localities. Plans are also underway to educate the youngsters about suicide prevention to check the growing number of young taking their lives", says Sheth.
Head of the Civil Hospital psychiatry department Vankar said that depression awareness programmes are being undertaken in collaboration with agencies like Self- Employed Women''s Association (Sewa) and Ahmedabad Women''s Action Group (Awag).
"There is scope for more voluntary agencies to chip in and create awareness about depression", he said.