Delhi child rights body starts helpline to allay coronavirus fears

New Delhi, Apr 4 () The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) has set up a central helpline to provide counselling to children and their parents to allay their anxieties in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

The helpline -- 011-41182977 -- will operate from 10 am to 7 pm, seven days a week till April 30, according to the DCPCR.

The commission has partnered with 'COVID Response', a not-for-profit initiative, to set up and operate the helpline.

COVID Response is a not-for-profit initiative bridged together by three impact-first mental health organisations who have experience of crisis and trauma counselling -- Mind Piper, Aatma Prakash, and I Am.

"With the implementation of physical distancing nationally to control the spread of the coronavirus, the helpline aims at supporting the children and their parents cope better with the fears, anxieties, stress and the uncertainties; and reconcile with the new reality we find ourselves in," the DCPCR said.

The panel also invited citizens with a background in psychology or mental health social work to join this initiative.

The operating hours of the helpline may also be extended based on the feedback from users, the child rights body said. SLB CK