PENANG Care Society (PgCare Society) and Plus Vibes (M) Sdn Bhd (PlusVibes) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on conducting mental health initiatives in Penang.
PgCare Society chairman Dr Ngoo Seong Boon said they are very excited to work with PlusVibes, their 30th partner/alliance, in line with the society’s mission to provide accessible mental health support to the Penang community.
“PgCare is a platform to combine the strength of NGOs, organisations/industry association and professionals, working with the state government to provide community support and services during the Covid pandemic and post-pandemic.
“With the advanced technology from PlusVibes and its group of companies and affiliated companies, we can provide broader support and coverage, especially mental health awareness and emotional support through the Apps among students and teenagers who are deeply impacted during the pandemic in their precious learning and growing period,” Dr Ngoo said.
He added that they aim to implement predictive measures instead of merely preventive ones to combat the mental health issues related to social problems caused by the pandemic or otherwise and to bring down the number of suicidal cases within a shorter period by tapping into technologies.
PlusVibes founder and chief executive officer Dr Madiha Fuad explained that PlusVibes is a community mental health mobile application that provides free mental health support through chats, motivational content and relaxation activities.
Users thus need to download the PlusVibes app to be able to receive chat support from an anonymous platform to prevent mental stress from developing into mental illness.
“Right now, we’ve 300 over Vibers. Vibers are those who have a psychology-related academic background and have passed Plus Vibes’ training programme.
“So, certain people will be on standby at certain times. So, we are not robots, it’s 100% human and 100% Malaysian from all states.
“The reason why we use Vibers, and not therapists or counsellors is because of stigma. We want to steer away from that; that is why it is Plus Vibes, like positive vibes, making yourself feel better, self-confident and motivated. Like sharing your vibes with someone else,” Dr Madiha said.
She also believed that the number of Vibers would grow with time.
For one thing, she said there is a lack of job opportunities for psychology graduates, who more often than not end up going into human resources and administration.
Through the Viber programme, she said the graduates could learn and apply what they have learned.
According to Dr Madiha, counselling will be done through chats (users can choose any of the four main languages – Malay, English, Chinese and Tamil), and only critical cases would be done virtually.
Elaborating on the app, she assured users that PlusVibes does not collect identifiable personal information.
She said users only need an email address, of which a new one could be created to use this service.
“We have a 24-hour chat policy, and we do not save the conversations. They are permanently deleted once the individual closes the chat.
“We only take note of the individual’s pre-assessment as this is the data that will be analysed to identify what is causing the problem so that we can explore solutions that will help the society,” she explained.
Dr Madiha said PlusVibes has supported 40,000 people and assisted 900 suicide ideations in the past two years since its establishment.
Dr Ngoo said the app was a very good alternative for PgCare to complement what they don’t have, especially for youngsters.
He said once they found that the caller requires face-to-face consultation, the person would be directed or connected to the local associations, like D’Home, Befrienders or Sneham.
Dr Ngoo speaking at the press conference before the MoU signing ceremony. Others present are Phee (centre), Dr Madiha (second from right), Aheeb (right), Keng (left) and Chung (second from left).
The MoU was signed by Dr Ngoo on behalf of PgCare while Dr Madiha signed on behalf of Plus Vibes, with state Welfare and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh and his special assistant Koay Gaik Kee as witnesses.
Phee said PgCare is always working among NGOs, commercial associations like MSIA, Samentha and JCI, private companies and professionals to leverage each other strengths to contribute to a common goal.
“When you have got problems, it is best you express in the language you are very comfortable with.
“One of the serious impacts of the pandemic is mental health and stress in the community which leads to the increase of suicide cases, among them are teenagers and the younger generation.
“Mental health support among NGOs is typically through phone calls or social media.
“Today, working with PlusVibes will bring another new way and alternative to using the Apps for support. We will target students and teenagers who are very familiar with phone apps,” Phee said.
Also present at the MoU signing ceremony were PgCare Society treasurer Keng Soo Peng and legal adviser Patricia Chung, and PlusVibes director Aheeb Abdul Aziz.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Alissala Thian