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Helplines

 

HELP IS JUST A CALL AWAY:
Elders SOS & Helpline

Elders SOS & Helpline

The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.

Mahatma Gandhi

Nearly a quarter  of India’s elders face abuse – often unfortunately at the hands of their own families.

Recognizing the acute need to address elder abuse , abandonment and need for shelter, in 2004 HelpAge India established its first Elder Helpline in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) – today that initiative has expanded to a national toll free Elder Helpline spread across 25 locations in 21 states in India, running 24 hours a day. At an average, the elder helpline receives 60,000 calls per year.

Through the Elder Helpline, elders found in precarious and life-threatening conditions (including malnourishment or abuse) are rescued and rehabilitated.

During the current Covid19 lockdown scenario, some very noteworthy humanitarian work was done using the Helpline through an independent online portal ‘CovidSOS’, by linking volunteers to elderly in distress. The portal won the UN SDG Action Solidarity Award 2020 as a mark of recognition of the outstanding work the young volunteers undertook to assist the elderly at an especially vulnerable time.

 

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

DONATE  

  • 5 USD – To help & rescue an elderly from abuse, neglect and abandonment.

Voicing Elder Needs

  • 2 USD – to support the per day expense of a destitute elderly in an Old Age Home