Empower Pacific answered 4132 calls via its counselling helpline during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. This, according to its recently released 2021 annual report.
CEO Patrick Morgam said 689 of the individuals who contacted them were provided counselling support while 763 were offered social work support.
He said 780 individuals were also provided hospital-based and communitybased mental health and psychological support during that period.
The CEO said a total of 3200 reusable face masks were distributed to rural and interior communities in Tailevu, Navosa and settlements within the Nadi-Lautoka corridor while 238 packs of adult diapers were distributed in the three major divisions.
“Having gone through a challenging year in 2020, we anticipated that 2021 was not going to be a smooth sail either and we weren’t out of the woods yet when it came to combating the pandemic,” Mr Morgam said.
“But we aimed for resilience and hope in our service provision of mental health and psychosocial support to the many individuals that need it the most, now probably more than ever.
“The COVID-19 pandemic brought severe socioeconomic issues and instability to the whole country and the organisation realigned and revamped its provision according to the pandemic.”
