DSWD launches WiSUPPORT, online psychosocial support services

MINERVA BC NEWMAN

CEBU CITY – Online psychosocial support services are now available and readily accessible with the virtual launching of WiSUPPORT or the “Wireless Mental Health and Psychosocial Support for Individuals and Families Affected by COVID-19 and other Crisis Situations” on Thursday, May 13 covering the pilot regions of central Visayas, National Capital Region (NCR) and Caraga.

“The constant worry and fear of being infected by the virus and economic concerns of providing for their families, coupled with family conflicts and disasters amid the pandemic have brought anxiety, mental, and emotional distress to a lot of people,” DSWD secretary Rolando Bautista said in his message during its virtual launching.

Bautista said that the WiSUPPORT is one of the Department’s measures to ensure that the general state of mental well-being of the public is prioritized amid the pandemic.

Among the target clientele of WiSUPPORT are Overseas Filipinos (OFs) in Distress, children in need of special protection (CNSP), senior citizens, women in especially difficult circumstances (WEDC), persons with disability (PWDs), family heads, and other needy adults (FHONA), and other individuals and families in distress, Bautista added.

According to DSWD-7 regional information officer Leah Quintana that DSWD-Field Office VII is now offering the WiSUPPORT here in the region as part of its COVID-19 response and recovery plan to find for more accessible ways to provide psychosocial support to Filipinos affected by the pandemic.

Quintana described the program as a social technology innovation that uses online platforms like electronic mail, web portal, DSWD WiServ, telephone, and mobile application to provide the public with easy access to various communication tools to talk with the DSWD WiSUPPORT service providers.

Quintana said that for emergency cases needing immediate attention, clients will be referred to psychiatrists, psychologists, and mental health institutions who are members of the referral network like the Department of Health (DOH) and National Center for Mental Health (NCMH).

Through the help of Mental Health AWhereness PH mapping, integrated with the WiSUPPORT platforms, clients and service providers may also find some agencies that are providing mental health services nearby, she bared.

Learning and Development activities for service providers will also be conducted to ensure proper management of cases.  Clients may access the services of WiSUPPORT through the following: Hotline numbers: Smart - 0999-8499733 or Globe - 0945-7123718; email at  wisupport@dswd.gov.ph and Website: ekwentomo.dswd.gov.ph. (Photos: DSWD7/Google Images)