CEBU, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development-7 will offer psychosocial support through its WiSUPPORT or the “Wireless Mental Health and Psychosocial Support for Individuals and Families Affected by COVID-19 and other Crisis Situations”.
DSWD Secretary Rolando Joselito D. Bautista, during the virtual launching of WiSUPPORT recently, said that as the lead agency in social protection and as part of the DSWD’s COVID-19 response and recovery plan, the department sought more accessible ways for the provision of psychosocial support to Filipinos affected by COVID-19 pandemic.
Bautista has emphasized the WiSUPPORT which covers pilot regions like Central Visayas, National Capital Region and Caraga Region, is one of the department’s measures to ensure that the general state of mental well-being of the public is prioritized amid the pandemic.
“The constant worry and fear of being infected by the virus and economic concerns of providing for their families, coupled with family conflicts and disasters amid the pandemic have brought anxiety, mental, and emotional distress to a lot of people,” said Bautista.
WiSUPPORT, a social technology innovation, uses online platforms like electronic mail, web portal, DSWD WiServ, telephone, and mobile application to provide the public with easy access to various communication tools to talk with the DSWD WiSUPPORT service providers.
DSWD-7 said that learning and development activities for service providers will also be conducted to ensure proper management of cases.
For emergency cases needing immediate attention, it said that clients will be referred to psychiatrists, psychologists, and mental health institutions who are members of the referral network like the Department of Health and National Center for Mental Health.
It added that through the help of Mental Health AWhereness PH mapping, integrated with the WiSUPPORT platforms, clients and service providers may also find some agencies that are providing mental health services nearby.
Among the target clientele of WiSUPPORT are overseas Filipinos in distress, children in need of special protection, senior citizens, women in especially difficult circumstances, persons with disability, family heads, and other needy adults and other individuals and families in distress.
Clients may access the services of WiSUPPORT through the following hotline numbers 0999-8499733 and 0945-7123718. — GMR (FREEMAN)