Helplines for Senior Citizens

Dr P Vyasamoorthy

Society for Serving Seniors

Senior Citizens Helplines

•Purpose

–Provide information say OAH, AED, Location of office

–Help personal relationship issues, Elder abuse; referrals.

–Abandonment; legal problems; emergency health or medical care

–Help in personal work payments, purchases of medicines

•Run by? Govt, NGO, Individual. Active or only on paper?

•Languages ; Hours of working; reachability (number of lines)

•Characteristics: Phone line / personal visits; online databases; directories; qualified trained staff; Almost always free; Sort of First aid center; generalized or special purpose?

Helplines in Hyderabad –Aasara(1)

•Aasara – GHMC. Hyderabad Main Helpline Active and heavily used. Services offered:

•Free entry into parks for activities like yoga, pranayama etc.• Provide preference for the Senior Citizens in public places/GHMC service center• Conducting medical camps for Senior Citizens.• Establishment of Day Care Centers for the Senior Citizens.• Encouraging voluntary services to provide various support services to Senior Citizens.• Providing counseling for the needy.• Arranging wheelchairs in parks and GHMC office.• Solving the issues through the helpline on priority basis.• Facilitating Old Age Pensions (OAP) as per Government forms • Providing police protection.• Medical concession through IMA and APNA.• Shelter assistance in home for elderly.

Helplines in Hyderabad Aasara(2)

•Day Care Centers 51; Issue of ID Cards 38250 Medical Camps 108; Senior Citizen Associations 151; Helpline Support provided 285 Cases

•Phone 1253. More than a thousand volunteers. Many specialists also volunteer.

•Newsletter; website:

•Mobile van; Regular Senior Care center

Other Helplines in Hyderabad (2)

•Wockhatdt Heartcatre Center: E-One services

Located in LB nagar. Phone 66002000 Emergency Calls; Ambulance; all queries about prevention of heart diseases answered. Similar to 108 but limited to heart care.

•Satyam Healthcare Helpline 104 HMRI

24/7 basis. Doctors answer any health medicine related query in English Hindi or Telugu over phone. Connecting to 108 in cases of emergency is done routinely.

Other Helplines in Hyderabad (3)

•Reverse Mortgage Counseling Center, Hyderabad. Acts as intermediary between the senior citizen seeking reverse mortgage loan and the bank. Run by National Housing Bank. Contact Sri Bukkapatnam Ramesh 27427066 / 9849119798 / 24043400 (located in Helpage Hyderabad office).

•Hyderabad City Police Helpline (Omnipolis)

Dee Cee Security Systems; Device at customers home. Central server in Police HQ. Emergency button once pressed alerts Police to send help through patrol vans. Costly proposition for individuals.

•Heritage Hospital Helpline with Police co-operation. Revived in April 2008. 233779999. Counseling, Elder Abuse, Health assistance, referrals. Not very active.

•Pesu: Personalized Ear-Lending Services Unlimited. Hyderabad. Listening Service. No emergency or distress calls. Plain listening. Giving company over phone. Loneliness minimization. 040-27846631 6 to 8 pm. Run by Society for Serving seniors. Only for Senior Citizens. Not very active now.

Helplines in Mumbai - Elderline

•Main Helpline called Elderline is run by Police Dept since June 2006. 2.1 Lakh calls in 18 months – heavily used. Registration of single seniors. Help in Qs. Legal and criminal cases. Elder abuse. Well run with thirty phone lines. Certified by BSI (BS7799) for quality of Service.

•A large volunteer base, doctors, hospitals are part of the helpline network. Right from asking for a bride to get married by a 75 year old man to help in making tea or paying electricity bill, anything is asked!!

•Sophisticated system of connecting Senior citizens and volunteers using databases, communication systems is in vogue.

•Dignity Foundation (NGO) has its own helpline: 23898078

Other Helplines in Mumbai

•Legal Advice for Women & Senior citizens. Run by Silver Innings Foundation and Majlis. Litigation support in matrimonial problems. Ph: 022-26661252 / 26662394

•Shree Manava Seva Sangh. Ph 022-24081487

•Mumbai Police Helpline for Women & Senior citizens. Set up by Jt Commissioner of Police Law & Order. Domestic Crimes, Street Crimes, Distress Calls. Molestation Stalking Chain snatching etc. Ph 103.

Helplines in Pune

•Pune Seniors Helpline. Police Commissioners Office. Since june 2008. Criminal cases follow up; medical and legal help; LPG installation, Land encroachment etc. About 100 calls/month. 11.00am to 5 pm weekdays only

•Pune Diagnostics Helplines. Stat24x7 System. Run by Radar Marketing & Health Seva – Mumbai based IT company. Started Jan 2008. Facilities of all diagnostic test including X Ray, ECG, USG, Pathology, Stress Test etc through mobile van fully equipped; samples collected at doorstep. Results delivered within 30 minutes at home. Service 30% to 40% costlier than normal services.

Bangalore

•Elders Helpline set up by Police Dept. Run by Nightingale Medical Trust. Started in 2002. Located in city Police Commissioner’s office. 5 staff members. Daily 125 visitors and 30 calls. Phone: 1090. OAH directory; Legal & family problems counseling. Criminal investigation.

•ISKON runs three day care centers in Malleswaram, Sadasivnagar, Shantinagar with the help of youth volunteers and they also offer a helpline.

Delhi

•Run by Police Dept. 1091 / 100/1291. Active.

•Online registration of senior citizens (exhaustive form).

•Visits or phone calls daily; advice on security

•List of NGOs, Old Age Homes and govt. schemes

•Servant verification; help in personal work etc

•

Delhi – Other Helplines

•Aadhar. Run by Agewell Foundation. Since 1999. Helpline telephone Nos. - 011-26836486, 011-26910484. Govt supported.

•Free Emergency Cab Service for senior citizens. Run by Ozone Group. Three cars. Ph 99998 66966

Helplines: Other cities (1)

•Kolkata: Started in July 2009. run by Police Dept and Bengal Club. Ph 21190740 . Presently housed in an Old Age Home called Pranam.

•Allahabad: Run by Police Dept. DIG is interested. Elder abuse and criminal cases are looked into. Phone: 0532-2440700 / 2250600. Every Tuesday 12 to 1.00 pm Elders can attend a meeting with DIG. Records of Lonely seniors are kept. Complainant’s ID is protected.

Helplines: Other cities (2)

•Ahmadabad: Govt run helpline: Phone: 18002335500 Run by IT dept, Police and SW departments. Providing Information govt. schemes; Attending to EA, criminal cases. Abandoned elders are take into state shelter OAH.

•NGO Agewell Foundation help line Ahmedabad Call: 079-26620606 . Since 1999

•Baroda, Gujarat. Setu Helpline. Set up by Modi Fans as a gift on his birthday. Youth Volunteers (21) help seniors in paying utility bills, gas booking etc. 24/7. Visiting lonely elders and give company.

Helplines: Other cities (3)

•Chandigarh: (tricity) Run by NGO Dadadadi. 24/7 Ph 9888988847. Providing info: where to get non slippery tiles? Get plumbers or electrician.

•Coimbatore, TN. Run by State govt & Helpage India. 24/7 tollfree 1253. Destitues, abandoned elders are protected. Info center: OAH directory. Help in Elder abuse. Also in Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi.

Helplines: Multicity Networks

•Dignity Helpline : Dignity Helpline is dedicated exclusively for the help and rescue of older persons. Distress calls from elders seeking assistance are handled by a qualified social worker. Numbers in cities are: CHENNAI(04424493165), KOLKATTA((03324187937/03324296048)JAMSHEDPUR(, BENGALURU (080241511307) Cell: 9902014959,9738075005,)VISAKHAPATNAM(0891 27003390)MYSORE (08214267679).In Mumbai there are chapters in CHEMBUR (02225203872/02225203873) and DADAR (02265133848)

•HelpAge India too has helplines in many cities. They care about poor older people only. Rural networking is strong.

Helplines Other cities (4)

•Gulbarga Helpline 1090 Toll free Police & SW dept. 24/7 Located in Shiva rudrappa Trust building.

•Mangalore Helpline. 1090. Police & SW dept. Vishwas Trust. Legal Medical help. ID cards. Info provision. Family counseling, crime registration.

•Aasara Helpline, Mumbai for Suicide Prevention. Befrienders Worldwide. Since1998. Depression Counseling. 24/7 Navi Mumbai ph 27546669

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