Tag: psychological support

Helsinki – Talking it out

Helsinki offers a free low-threshold service, Mieppi, as a support to people during challenging times. During the crisis the service went online, and nurses and psychologists provided their support via phone or conference calls. Mieppi offers up to five meetings to people from 13 years of age and older. As a low-threshold service, Mieppi believes that early support and aid can help find ways of coping. Talking and being heard achieves the main goal of creating a human connection that will help overcome difficult times. Read more here

Contact: Outi Forsström

Viladecans – Psychological care community

The municipality has establish an online community based on videocalls to allow those who feel lonely to share their feelings and receive support from others. This is just one among a number of initiatives to tackle the spread of the pandemic have been implemented since the lockdown began seven weeks ago. Read them all here

Contact: Alba Martínez García

Leeds – ‘Posters for the People’

The city wants to show its support for the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) staff and key workers with a colourful street art campaign called ‘Posters for the People’.

The project, led by the street art movement, In Good Company, and supported by Leeds City Council, has seen over 150 sites across the city transformed into colourful designs to spread positivity and show support to all those keeping the country running during this challenging time.

In good company
Continue reading “Leeds – ‘Posters for the People’” →

Madrid – Apartments for seniors

Madrid has opened a complex of apartments to host elderly people without COVID-19 symptoms who have lost their caregivers, which in many cases is also a loved one, or who do not benefit from the help of a caregiver. The new space can welcome up to 75 people, who will benefit from social and psychological support, and the assistance of a doctor and a nursing team. Read more here (in Spanish)

Contact: Ana Buñuel

Madrid – Hotel for homeless with mild symptoms

Madrid city council, together with the regional government and the Red Cross, has arranged a hotel for 120 homeless people with mild coronavirus symptoms. Health professionals are monitoring their health. Rooms are equipped with tablets so that patients can reach the support team of social workers, psychologist and doctors. The initiative is part of the Homeless Emergency Plan of the city council. Read more here (in Spanish)

Contact: Ana Buñuel

Madrid – Support hotline for grieving

Madrid is reaching out to those who have lost loved ones to the coronavirus pandemic to offer them free counseling via telephone. In this conversation, professionals will establish strategies for those affected to share their pain and will recommend that, through technology, they connect with their family and friends to remember the deceased person and thus alleviate grief in circumstances of isolation and loneliness. After a few days from the first call, subsequent evaluations will be carried out to reinforce the basic strategies to mitigate their pain. Read more (in Spanish) here.

Contact: Ana Buñuel

Bordeaux – Support hotlines

Bordeaux is now operating several hotlines for people differently affected by coronavirus. These include a mental health support hotline, COVIDPSY33, from 10.00-18.00 Monday to Friday; a specific phone service for those grieving the death of a loved one; and a phone line for healthcare professionals to receive support and advice.

Contact: Marie-Elisabeth Sapin

Zagreb – Hotlines for health

Zagreb has opened a free hotline available to citizens 24 hours a day, where all relevant coronavirus information can be obtained. The telephone numbers of the Andrija Štampar Teaching Institute of Public Health, one of the public health institutions funded by the City of Zagreb, on the danger of coronavirus infection, are also available to the citizens from 8.00-20.00h. A crisis psychological counseling hotline is also available. This is in parallel to a free hotline opened by the Croatian Red Cross for psychosocial support.

Contact: international.relations@zagreb.hr

Madrid – Sports for the elderly

The City Council launches #SiempreContigo, a service that provides recommendations to the older population to carry out controlled physical activity and check their condition during home confinement. The service is carried out by coaches who call the person to track their emotional and physical condition. Read more (in Spanish) here

Contact: Ana Buñuel

Cardiff – Pre-school support for families

The Cardiff based organisation Flying Start has gone online to continue delivering services to pre-school children and their parents. Appointments, group parenting as well as health and therapy services have all been moved online. While ‘Stay and Play’ sessions have been replaced by a range of fun activities to do with children shared on social media. Read more here

Contact: Beverley Watson

Zaragoza – Support for young, old and victims of gender violence

Zaragoza is combating the mental health issues that can emerge among infants and youths from confinement with a team of specialized youth professionals from the municipal services. The service is free and can be reached by phone and e-mail. Read more (in Spanish) here.

The city is also offering support to over-65s with a daily cooked meal to be delivered to their homes in collaboration with non-profit La Caridad. Those interested can register by phone.

Zaragoza is also assisting victims of gender violence through its services at ‘La Casa de la Mujer’ along with a 24-hour emergency telephone number and a campaign so that the neighbors get involved in cases of gender violence, and bring them to the attention of the authorities. More information (in Spanish) here.

Contact: Lorena Calvo

Dusseldorf – Protection for women and children

With families spending unusually much time together bound in their homes, the incidents of domestic violence have spiked in the past weeks and days. The German city of Dusseldorf has therefore extended its accommodation facilities, shelters and protection services for women and children in need. For people suffering emotionally as a result from the corona restrictions, psychological counselling is offered via telephone hotlines.

Continue reading “Dusseldorf – Protection for women and children” →

Leipzig – Hotline for families

To support families in the current situation, the City of Leipzig has set up a phone hotline, available from 8am – 6pm, 7 days a week. Experienced personnel from the fields of childcare, school social work and youth work answer questions ranging from how to keep children occupied to Corona-related rules affecting families. They also provide educational counselling. The goal is to offer low-threshold support to families in a time of restricted social contacts. Read more here

Contact: Christin Rettke

Nice – Support for the vulnerable

Nice has opened a new reception site for the homeless and updated old ones by adding protection and hygiene measures recommended by the health authorities. Read more (in French) here. The city has also teamed up with nearby cities to launch a regional telephone hotline for psychological support to residents. Read more (in French) here. For those with a prescription, medical workers, or people who are exhibiting symptoms of the coronavirus, two drive-through test centres have also been set up. Read more (in French) here.

A special hotline for those with disabilities has also been set up, and an app through which the disabled can get information and ask for help. The city has made available tools like automatic voice transcription and sign language to make sure that everyone can stay up to date on the latest news and advice. Read more (in French) here.

Contact: Jérôme Sieurin

Beşiktaş – Aid to residents

Beşiktaş Municipality has created an online service providing psychological, nutritional and physiotherapy services, as well as family counselling to all residents who have to stay at home. Read more about this service (in Turkish) here.

Support from the municipality is also physical. Beşiktaş, besides its own extensive disinfection procedure, is handing out bags full of necessary hygienic equipment to residents, and is delivering food supplies to residents over 65 years old and to other people in need with the help of local police. The Mayor has joined social welfare workers in preparing the support boxes. Read more about this here.

The municipality is also delivering aid to people with chronic diseases, over 65s, and disabled people who are in social isolation, including hands on medical support and examination, and online medical consultation. Read more (in Turkish) here. To take care of health workers, the city has made student dormitories available to health workers. Read more (in Turkish) here.

Contact: foreignaffairs@besiktas.bel.tr

Nice – Tackling domestic violence

Nice has launched several measures to tackle domestic violence during the lock down. These include a telephone hotline and email address for reporting known or suspected cases, an awareness raising campaign, a partnership with pharmacies that welcome female victims of violence, and provision of emergency accommodation for women who wish to leave their homes. Read more (in French) here.

Contact: Jérôme Sieurin

Nantes – Support for victims of violence

Citad’elles, Nantes’ post-trauma consultation centre for women victims of violence remains open. The centre provides medical, psychological and material assistance to women and children that are victims of violence. Mayor Johanna Rolland has deemed the support from the centre essential during confinement. Read more here

Contact: Nicolas Joffraud

Zaragoza – Taking care of seniors (update)

Zaragoza City Council, Ibercaja Foundation and Ibercaja Bank have set up a fundraising platform collecting and managing donations from individuals and from the private sector. The funds will be used to help the elderly by providing food, psychological support, etc… As a first goal, Zaragoza wants to guarantee the home delivery of 500 daily meals. Read more here

Contact: Lorena Calvo

Madrid – ‘Adopt a grandfather’

Elderly people in Madrid who are isolated in confinement due to COVID-19 can call a free phone number and have a conversation with a volunteer. The project ‘Minutos en Compañía’ – ‘minutes in company’ – has been initiated by the Madrid City Council in collaboration with the organisation ‘Adopta un Abuelo’ – ‘Adopt a Grandparent’. More than 100 volunteers are taking the calls via a switchboard and an app on their mobile phones at home. Read more here (in Spanish)

Contact: Ana Buñuel

Ljubljana – Psychological support

The Ljubljana Health Centre has ensured psycho-social support for anyone potentially struggling with the current epidemiological situation. The support is offered via phone or email. It has also been offered by some non-governmental organisations whose programs are co-financed by the city of Ljubljana.

Contact: Polona Novak

Poznan – Psychological advice for all citizens

In order to support people’s mental health, the city launched a free, online programme that allows people to ask direct advice from psychologists on how to handle problems that COVID-19 has brought to their lives. This is offered to people of all ages in Polish, English, Russian, Spanish, Italian, German and French. Read more here

Contact: Anna Aleksandrzak

Pau – Home-meal service by the municipality

Municipal kitchens prepare meals for people who cannot go shopping : elderly, isolated, disabled, or single women with dependent children. These meals are delivered by employees of the city of Pau, usually working in municipal departments which are now closed, as swimming pools. The city has also opened a telephone hotline for psychological support where even politicians take turns to answer the calls. Read more here (in French)

Contact: Valérie Demangel

Krakow – Free psychological consultations over the phone

While many medical appointments are being cancelled due to the requisition of health workers for the management of the crisis, patients often still need support. In particular, the situation can be hard to manage in terms of mental health. Krakow has therefore decided to open free support through phone consultations. 

Read more here

Contact: Marguerite Kuzma