THE City Government of Cagayan de Oro, through the Psychosocial Division of City Social Welfare and Development (CSWD), is eyeing to have a hotline that can be accessed by people with mental health problems.

According to Jaymee Leonen, the head of the Psychosocial Division, the 24/7 Mental Help Line is an inter-agency collaboration that will help people with mental health problems in Cagayan de Oro City and respond through its 911 Rescue Service.

Based from the data of the Psychosocial Division, there are 15 suicide cases in the city recorded from January to April of this year, with youth or minors involved in most cases and depression as the main cause.

As part of the preparation for the implementation of the 24/7 Mental Help Line, the CSWD conducted a two-day mental health forum participated by Violence Against Women (VAW) desk officers from the different barangays in the city that aimed to inform them of the mental health effects caused by violence and abuse not just to women but also their children, families and communities.

Such an information, the CSWD said, can help the VAW desk officers assist clients with mental health problems within their respective barangays.

With the 24/7 Mental Help Line still in the works, the Psychosocial Division has provided services such as psychoeducation, counseling and psychotherapy, assessment needed by children for their Special Education Programs in school, among others.