Children and young people most often call the “blue phone” counseling line to talk about fear, anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts.
“For help and support, children and young people between the ages of 14 and 19 turn to us most often, and they come to talk about mental health problems, with fear and anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts and ideas still being the most common topics.” pointed out Maja Kovačević, coordinator of the “blue phone”, for “Nezavisne“.
In addition to mental health, a frequent topic of conversation, as he says, is violence and abuse, with the most prevalent being domestic violence and online violence.
“Also, children and young people often turn to us to talk about their relationship with their parents, partner relationships, as well as the difficulties they encounter in friendships. Also, we were often called by parents to talk about the difficulties their children are having they face, such as anxiety, peer violence, and in order to be informed about child rearing practices,” she said.
The counselors of the “blue phone” responded to 4,800 calls and 1,460 inquiries via electronic counseling in the first eight months of 2024. An important fact is that a total of 42 reports of suspected violence and suicide involving 51 persons were forwarded to competent institutions, police administrations, centers for social work and ombudsmen for children’s rights.
“Also, it is important to note that in 2024, 3,400 calls that were made after the working hours of the ‘blue phone’ were not answered, which would mean that every month we have about 400-500 missed calls,” Kovačević said.
On the other hand, as he says, during 2023, the counselors of the “blue phone” responded to a total of 14,978 calls and 2,933 inquiries via e-counseling, while 56 reports of suspected violence and suicide were forwarded to the competent institutions, which included 26 girls, 22 boys, 30 women and four men.
“When it comes to the increase or decrease in the number of conversations at the beginning of gloomy days, no changes in the number of conversations are noticeable for now,” she concluded.
The “blue phone” service was launched by the Association “Nova generacija” from Banja Luka in 2013.
“To date, over 66,700 calls have been received, over 7,900 inquiries via chat counseling, and over 250 reports of suspected violence against children and adults have been sent to the competent institutions,” they pointed out from the “blue phone”.
When calling, as they add, it is not necessary to leave personal data, and thanks to cooperation with the company “M:tel”, all calls are free, regardless of the network from which the person is calling.
Also, it is important to emphasize that all activities of the “blue phone” are supported and implemented in cooperation with UNICEF in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
