Kids Help Phone staff can now access a virtual wellbeing hub
Posted December 7, 2021 11:42 am.
Last Updated December 10, 2021 11:56 am.
More than 4.1 million young people have been supported by Kids Help Phone so far this year.
Vice President of National Partnerships Jenny Yuen says in Alberta, there were 18,500 connections made in October alone.
Back in 2019, Yuen says Kids Help Phone supported young people more than 1.9 million times, but when the pandemic hit in 2020, that number jumped to 4.6 million.
“In March, when we had emergency lockdowns across the country, we saw an increase of 350 per cent across our services in a matter of weeks, so you can see immediately the impact the pandemic had in the surge in demand across the country,” she said.
“Because of the demand, we went from 150 employees to 440 in a matter of a year, and so that significant growth allowed us to ensure that we were there for young people, but it also caused tremendous growth and strain on Kids Help Phone.”
It takes courage to be vulnerable. If need someone to chat with, our team of crisis responders and counsellors is here for you 24/7.https://t.co/soXkpqfY4F
— Kids Help Phone (@KidsHelpPhone) December 7, 2021
But as demand mounts on employees and volunteers at Kids Help Phone, so does the toll on their mental health.
“They’re helping the youth of Canada, you know, become well and manage through their problems, and it’s got to be very stressful,” said CEO of Sprout Wellness Solutions Inc. Neer Sharma.
With work from home a reality, many employees and volunteers were having critical and difficult conversations from their own homes.
Yuen says that’s where the virtual Sprout at Work platform comes in, with the goal of improving physical and mental health.
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Sharma says the idea was born out of wanting to help the community during the pandemic. Sprout Wellness is offering its service to Kids Help Phone free of charge.
For many years, Sharma has been a major supporter of Kids Help Phone. Now that he has four daughters, he says the importance of the organization is greater for him than ever before.
“I’ve always been thankful to know that there’s an organization like Kids Help Phone available for my girls in case they were ever not comfortable speaking to myself or my wife,” he said.
“Every employee in the organization can take benefit from this.”