Madrid
Publication: Sunday, April 18, 2021 2:40 PM
The most difficult months of the pandemic were even more so for those who had to live it and, also, to listen to it with the voices of others. The “The Red Cross is listening” service was launched in April 2020, since then serving more than 6,200 people overwhelmed by the situation.
This is what says Juanjo, psychologist and volunteer, who explains that people come to this call when they see themselves “in a process of mourning”, “alone”, or when they cannot “watch over a dead person. or accompany him. “. “One day I spent 25 minutes on the clock listening to a lady cry,” he says.
Mar Echenique, responsible for mental health projects at the Red Cross, explains the type of service they offer: “It is a psychosocial support and accompaniment service for people in emotional distress, depressed mood, stress or anxiety”.
A year ago surveys of fear of contagion prevailed, but now that trend has shifted to fear of job loss, among others. “The anxiety of not being able to pay the rent or the mortgage on the house, of having to go and ask for food, of having a situation in which they see nothing or of finding another job, generates a very strong stress. », He explains. Sea.
According to the Red Cross report, 67% of all calls come from women aged 50 to 64. Without these kinds of services, they say from the Red Cross, many people would not have access to the help they need.
Up to 150 people specializing in psychosocial support and accompaniment work to respond to these requests. All this to reduce pandemic fatigue which, according to experts, is still far from disappearing.
The phone number 900 107 917 is free and is active Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm “One day I spent 25 minutes on the clock listening to a lady cry. And in the end we ended up without saying a word, only with a thank you. “
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