Helpline seen as public private success story

Supportline 179 is an excellent example of how a state agency and volunteers can work together successfully, the chief executive officer of the Foundation for Social Welfare Service, Joe Gerada, said.

"It is a public private partnership in the social welfare sector where the state agency provides the professional support and the necessary infrastructure while the volunteers provide the human resources and skills to help the callers," he said.

Supportline 179 is a helpline operated by the social work agency Appogg.

Speaking during an activity to commemorate the 10th anniversary since the line was set up, Mr

Gerada described it as an "extremely important link in the continuum of community services".

He expressed the hope that a community social work service, which is badly needed but still lacking, will find its way into the government's and local authorities' budgets.

Since it started operating in January 1996, the helpline has dealt with 104,700 genuine calls for assistance through 79,970 hours of voluntary work, carried out by 235 volunteers.

The number of calls has increased from an average of 8,300 per year between 1996 and 2001 to an average of 23,000 calls per year since 2002.