SOS line available to children and young people even during the holidays

The SOS line for children and youth 116 111 is available during the holidays, announced the Children's Home "Mladost" Bijela.

"During the summer months, children and young people have more free time, they travel, socialize, spend more time online, and many high school students gain their first work experience through seasonal work. That is why it is important for them to know that support does not stop when the school year ends. The SOS phone for children and young people 116 111 is available 24 hours a day, free of charge, anonymously and confidentially, while chat support is available every day from 18 pm to 20 pm via the website e116111.me. Children and young people today communicate more often online, so for many, written communication is an easier and safer way to ask a question, share what worries them or take the first step towards seeking help," the statement reads.

They emphasize that children and young people can turn to them when they feel sad, lonely, scared, confused or under pressure, but also when they are faced with violence, problems in peer relationships, disturbing content on social networks or other situations that they find difficult to talk about with people around them.

The SOS line 116 111 team says that summer does not mean that the challenges faced by children and young people stop.

"During the summer months, when there is no school and when children and young people spend more time outside of their usual routine, psychosocial topics and mental health issues often come to the forefront. Young people come to us because of feelings of sadness, loneliness, anger, rage, depressive thoughts, but also because of problems with friends, falling in love and peer pressure. It is important that they know that there is a safe space where they can talk, without fear of being judged by anyone," said Marela Savić, director of the Children's Home "Mladost" Bijela.

During the summer, the SOS line is also contacted by children from the region who are on holiday in Montenegro. The conversations most often relate to peer relationships, friendships, "falling in love and situations in which they need the support of a trusted adult."

It is particularly important, the statement emphasizes, that children and young people know that they can seek help even when they are not sure how to describe what they are feeling. "The problem does not need to be 'big' for them to come forward. It is enough that they are having a hard time, that something is bothering them or that they need someone to listen to them."

It is encouraging that in Montenegro, the mental health of children and young people is being talked about more openly, and that "the stigma of seeking help is gradually decreasing." Talking to a professional and supportive person, they note, can be an important first step towards making a child or young person feel safer, calmer, and less alone.

"Children and young people are not alone. And during the summer there is a place where they can be heard," the statement reads.

The program to improve and promote the National SOS Children's Line is being implemented within the project "Together for the Common Good", implemented by UNDP, UNICEF and UNESCO in cooperation with the Government of Montenegro, with financial support from the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund.