Social service organization Caritas Macau celebrated the rapidly approaching 10th anniversary of its “24-Hour Emergency Support Service Helpline” by hosting an exchange seminar on 15 August titled “Protecting Our Colleagues and Facing Challenges Together”.
The seminar saw participants share their practical experiences in crisis work in order to publicize crisis solutions to the social service industry, as well as to share the current situation and experiences of family crisis services. The event is expected to help boost strategic exchanges within the social service industry around the prevention of and assistance in crisis affairs.
The “24-hour Urgent Support Services Helpline” was launched in 2013 and provides immediate emergency services for individuals or families in need. According to Caritas, requests for help are mainly related to family problems with a significant increase in the number of calls from people seeking assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, a total of 4,529 calls for help were received, including 796 special cases and 2,666 follow-up cases.
Caritas said early detection, effective intervention and comprehensive support are key factors in crisis intervention.
During the event, experts, scholars and practitioners from different regions were invited to share their practical experiences of family crisis service support, with the expertise offered from different regions helping improve the service level of crisis intervention in Macau.
