A Project
A Free Emergency Psychological Help Short-Number
(TRUST-LINE)
The Aim
The development in The Republic of Estonia, of a free 24-hour availability
short phone-number and the development in the Estonian and Russian
languages of a service of an emergency psychological help, in accordance
with the regulatory norms of the IFOTES.
A Brief Description of a Working System.
In case of a system of short-number phone-line each individual has an
opportunity of a 24-hour dial-up to a 3 to 4 digit phone-number from which it
is possible to receive emergency therapy-counselling of an even level quality.
the dialling is free-of-charge, counselling provided expert and professional,
and as anonymously confidential as it can be made since the network of
counsellors-by-phone is dispersed and spread all across Estonia.
Into the 24-hour unified short-number system there will be integrated
locally-based (regional) trust-lines which participate on a shifts-basis
schedule.
In compiling the vigilance-shifts, consideration will be given to both the wishes
and capabilities of local trust-lines, along with variability and alternations in the
need for the particular service in terms of time of day or night, seasonal
adjustments, as well as other factors.
In a system of integrated round-the-clock-functionality regional trust-lines, a
call having been through by a client, will be sent to the nearest local trust-line
that is in the mode of vigilance (having its shift). If that line is engaged by a
previous call, the dialled call will automatically be directed on to the next
available line.
The Background.
A network of help-lines in Estonia was beginning to take shape in December
of 1987 when the Tallinn Help-Line was established. In 1990, the help-lines
operating in Estonia (17 trust-lines with 248 volunteers-counsellors) merged
into an association USALDUS. The Association USALDUS is a member of
IFOTES as from 1991.
At the current point in time, there is operating a help-line in each of our
counties. The employees and methods of work of them are at least somewhat
at variance (some are open only on certain days of the week; the majority
close down for night-time; the numbers are designated differing numerals from
country to country etc.). In parallel to the help-lines allied to the Association
USALDUS, there are operating phonecounselling services of a smaller scope
of target-area (Counsellors of the Cancer Society, the AIDS help-Line, The
Youth Trust-Line, The Victims´ Phone-Help, The Life-Line Counsellors, The
Trust-Line of the Tallinn Centre for Chrisis Help and others).
It has been an aim for those involved in the setting up of phone help-lines from
the very outset to focus the resources into the creation of a unified
country-wide freely-available few-digited number.
This would increase the anonymity of the caller and the availability of the
assistence, as well as making the quality of the assistence provided more
even. Equally, it would permit to spread the work-load of the counsellors
more efficienty, taking into account the dynamics of help-requirements in any
given 24-hour period.
The Required Resource-Base.
The maintaing in permanent operation of the Three Emergency Psychological
Help-Line Short-Number (trust-line) is a feasible option if following resource
can be drawn on:
1.A personal of counsellors via the flexible working-arrangements of
whom it becomes possible to secure a round-the-clock shift-work of
at least two simultaneous counsellors in a given 24-hour stint (in
essence, 48 man-hours per 24 hours, adding up to an approximate
17,000 working-hours annually).
2.A personnel charged with securing the internal co-ordination of the
staff of counsellors the over-all smooth running of the system and the
office-rooms.
3.The existence of a technological system ensuring the switch-board
facilities to direct the calls to the Short-Number; the existence of a
suited-to-the-task equipment and machinery and their operational
maintenance.
All added up, the cost of keeping the Three Emergency Psychological
Help-Line Short-Number operational for 12 months constitutes
approximately 1,500,000 to 2,000,000 EEK, out of which each above-cited
segment makes up a third of the over-all expenditure. Provided there is the
good will and co-operation between the state-, commercial- and
non-profit-making sectors, the system being outlined here could be put into
operation as follows: the non-profit sector would ensure the activities of the
system by a supply of volunteer (non-salary-receiving) -counsellors, the
commercial sector would ensure the technological functioning of the system
through the means in their ownership and the state budget would finance the
expenses incurred in the general running and co-ordination of the system. For
the getting-under-way of the project there is an additional requirement for a
single-occasion investment in the amount of 250,000 EEK.
The Implementation of the Project.
With a favourable convergence of circumstances, it is in principle conceivable
to implement the project in its full extent within six months. It would serve the
intended purposes the best if the initial phase would be devoted to the launch
of the Estonian Trust-Line Services, and the experience obtained in creating it
would gradually be chanelled to the setting-up of the Russian-language
help-line.
|
|
 |
 |
|
