Preeti Chhatwal is the regional manager of Sikh Helpline in Victoria, who told SBS Punjabi that "this Helpline is operated by trained volunteers who provide counselling, guidance and assistance to people who call for help. Its a national helpline in Australia and we are very accessible via phone, website, social media and all the usual platforms."
"In the last 12 months, we received 182 requests for help from all around Australia. The largest proportion of callers (28.7%) whose cases were dealt with by our volunteers, were international students, followed by victims of family violence (19.1%). We dedicated over 2000 hours of our volunteers' time to provide support to those in crisis."
According to Preeti Chhatwal, settlement issues are most common among newly arrived migrants, and most people calling them seek help or advice in a language they're comfortable with. "We have 42 trained volunteers in Sydney, Melbourne and other cities, who provide counselling in Punjabi, Hindi and English. We are going to run more training sessions in both Melbourne and Sydney during the month of June, so that we can have more trained volunteers."
Preeti also clarified a common misconception that can be caused by the name 'Sikh Helpline', about who can actually access their services. "Yes, it is called Sikh Helpline because all the volunteers behind it are Sikh. But that doesn't preclude anyone in need, from accessing our services."
Sikh Helpline footprint in Australia Source: Sikh Helpline footprint in Australia
An excerpt from the Sikh Helpline's annual report Source: Supplied
Another excerpt from the Sikh Helpline's annual report Source: Supplied
"Anyone, regardless of their religious or cultural background can come to us for help. In fact we have helped many non-Sikh callers during the past 12 months.
Preeti went on to add, "So far, we have been relying on donations alone, and have also tried to provide financial assistance to people in dire need. We are hoping to get some government funding this year, so that our services can reach more people. The need for emergency accommodation is surging with domestic violence victims and international students. We plan to develop a network of housing provided by our community where we will be able to connect those fleeing from domestic violence situations or in need with those that have available housing."
The Sikh Helpline phone number is 0401 40 10 40 and more information is available on https://www.sikhhelpline.com.au
Volunteers being trained for answering calls to Sikh Helpline at Craigieburn gurudwara in 2016 Source: Supplied
