CCCline 1333 tele-counseling service to reach out to more Sri Lankans

CCCline – 1333 a free telephone counselling service that provides emotional support and guidance launched a promotional campaign recently to create awareness in order to offer its counseling and referral service to reach more people in the country. The primary objective of CCCline is to support people to cope with crisis and get back on their feet. It also aims to support people to build resilience to enable them to deal with future challenges.

People of all ages are encouraged to call CCCline if they are experiencing difficulties due to domestic violence, family disputes, relationship and marital problems, sexual abuse, workplace issues, psychiatric illness and disorders, drug and alcohol issues, child abuse, mental health concerns, bullying at school or workplace, examinations and study pressures, dealing with the death of a loved one and divorce, personal issues or any concerns affecting their emotional wellbeing.

CCCline aims to empower the callers by supporting them to better understand their issues and come up with their own solution to their problems. In most cases, they are aware of what needs to be done and may only require someone to listen and provide support. In cases where they need a special service, counsellors will refer them to support services preferably in their local area.  

CCCline is an initiative by the CCC Foundation in partnership with Lifeline in Australia. Lifeline is the largest telephone counselling service in Australia with over 50 centers across the country. CCCline telephone counsellors are trained under the guidance of Lifeline and CCCline is a part of the Lifeline international network of telephone counselling service around the world.

Currently, an average of 12 persons die by suicide everyday in Sri Lanka.

For each person who dies by suicide at least 10 others fail in their attempts according to Sri Lanka Sumithrayo. Suicide is more to release oneself from the heavy burdens rather than a wish to die. Suicide can be compared to a peak of an iceberg. The majority of an iceberg is buried deep beneath the surface. And likewise, so many social and mental health concerns can lead to suicide. At one time, Sri Lanka had one of the highest suicide rates in the world.

This rate has decreased over the years due to the great work of many individuals and organisations.

With the assistance of Kumar Sangakkara – the Brand Ambassador for CCCline – and other strategic partnerships, CCCline hopes to create greater awareness of its service island wide as well as breakdown the social barriers and stigma associated with mental health in Sri Lanka.

“As the brand ambassador of CCCline, I am proud to be associated with an organisation that focuses on people’s mental and emotional well being,” said Kumar Sangakkara. “We all have ups and downs. However, when we find that we are not coping with our issues it is important  that we get the support of the family, friends and professionals to ensure that we resolve any issues before they become bigger issues,” he further added.

“As the hospitals cannot deal with the sheer numbers of persons seeking help, counselling sessions are quite short during which the doctors cannot provide the required level of assistance. CCCline will help to improve this situation with their professionally trained counsellors that can be accessed by simply dialling 1333” said Dr. Jayan Mendis-Director of the National Institute of Mental Health.

Suren Madanayake Chairman CCC Foundation said “we want people to pick up the phone and call CCCline on 1333 if they are going through a crisis or simply want to talk to someone about their problems. They are not alone.”

The Courage Compassion Commitment (CCC) Foundation is a not for profit organisation based in Sri Lanka and Australia to provide services in the areas of cancer and mental wellbeing. CCC Foundation was founded in 2003 to assist the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Mahagarama to provide support for children fighting cancer. The CCC Foundation partners with the Royal Children’s Hospital and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute in Melbourne Australia to provide best practice in cancer treatment and care for children and adults at the NCI. CCC Foundation is currently completing the final phase of construction of the CCChouse, a 188-bed, cancer transit home for outpatients at the NCI.

The CCChouse is the biggest facility of its kind for children and their care givers as well as adult outpatients with cancer. CCC Foundation is responsible for the construction and operation of this facility, which is located inside the premises of the NCI.

CCCline – an initiative of the CCC Foundation – is operational seven days a week from 9a.m. to 5p.m.. Callers can dial 1333 to access the CCCline from any service provider. For more information, please visit www.CCCline.org