A SMILING face does not necessarily mean that the person is happy; deep inside there might be a storage of sorrow, says Penang Befrienders vice-chairman Saras Pillay.
Saras said the Covid-19 pandemic has pushed people’s mental health to the edge as loneliness and anxiety have apparently engulfed them.
“During times such as this, people are overwhelmed with emotions such as fear, extreme sadness and a feeling of being detached from their loved ones.
“Each and everyone of us might be facing a similar situation, but the ability to endure a painful and difficult situation varies for every individual.
“Some are able to bounce back and brave it courageously but for some it might be very exhausting, and they spiral down, eventually leading them to suicidal thoughts,’’ said Saras during an interview by Buletin Mutiara team recently.
Saras believes that not many are aware of the services offered by organisations such as the Befrienders.
“We are very concerned with public mental health. We want people to know about Befrienders and that we are more than willing to be a listening ear to whomever who need it.
“I would like to let them know that they can share with us the things that are burdening or bothering them.
“We provide our services through WhatsApp, telephone call and email. We also have face to face services but currently we have put it on hold due to the conditional movement control order (CMCO),’’ added Saras.
According to Saras, job loss, unemployment, the inability to cope with studies, feeling neglected by loved ones are some of the common causes of distress among the people in the recent times.
“People are distraught after losing jobs, especially for sole breadwinners who have been affected by retrenchment. It is certainly a trying time for them.
“For youngsters, the social distancing tends to be a hindrance for them from carrying out their plans and they are bogged down by it.
“For some elderly, they feel neglected by their children who seem to be busy handling issues emerging from the pandemic.
“When we talk about students, not all of them are comfortable with online learning as some are financially not sound, and for some they might not have a conducive learning environment at home,’’ said Saras.
Saras, who has been serving Penang Befrienders for 32 years, said the organisation hopes to open 24 hours if they have enough manpower.
“Currently, we have 70 volunteers and for us to be available round the clock we need at least 100 volunteers. I hope that people can come forward to give us a helping hand to serve the community.
“Earlier, we had to close our centre starting from second half of March to end of April due to the movement order control (MCO), but our services continued via Skype.
“During that time, we received calls related to the fear of the pandemic as well as other calls pertaining to relationships and other personal matters.
“Now, we are back with our usual service at our centre and more people are pouring out their emotions through WhatsApp, especially the younger generation,’’ said Saras.
Saras expressed hopes that government agencies could join hands with Befrienders to spread awareness on mental health and to assist the organisation to prevent suicides.
“We find that most suicides take place in high-rise buildings. Just recently two individuals took their lives, at stratified homes in two different places.
“Thus, we hope that the state government could do something to rectify this. Perhaps, they can help us to collaborate with the Joint Management Body or Management Committee to put up our banners at high-rises.
“In this way, people might come to know about Befrienders, and it could help save a life. Other than that, we also welcome Village Community Management Councils (MPKKs) to work with us to reach out to the community,’’ said Saras.
Penang Befrienders chairman, Damain Lee who was also present said that, the organisation has been constantly involved with community outreach programmes in secondary schools and higher learning institutions.
Meanwhile, Saras also suggested that volunteers be placed at the Penang Bridge to conduct patrolling in order to prevent suicides from taking place.
“It will be great if patrolling can be done at the bridge.
“Perhaps, with the help of personnel from Malaysian Civil Defence Force or Rela and even other agencies, we can probably stop people from taking their lives,” added Saras.
Very importantly, Saras said, is to be sensitive to one’s mental health and also of those who are around us.
“Everybody needs at least one person whom they can they share all the things that are troubling them without us judging them.
“Let us be that person, be a listener and save lives,” said Saras.
Befrienders can be reached at 04-2815161/2811108, 011-56706261 (WatsApp) or [email protected].
Story by Tanushalini Moroter
Pix by Siti Noor Nabilah Noorazis