Supportline 179 started off with a few hundred calls per year 10 years ago, but its importance in the social fabric of the country rapidly increased as more people picked up the phone to speak about their personal problems to volunteers at the other end of the line.

Recently, it was announced that more than 100,000 calls had been received on this support line, run by Agenzija Appogg, in the 10 years of its existence. Those few hundred calls increased to 22,000 in 2005, with the peak having been reached two years earlier, when 26,000 calls were received. The trend seems to follow the same pattern this year, as over 4,000 calls have been made to this number in the first three months of the year.

There are a variety of reasons why people feel the urge to call 179. Many just need someone to listen to their woes, and it shows how lonely people can be in this so-called “communication” day and age. To find no-one to speak to in cases of need, and having to resort to phoning up and speaking to a stranger, indicates that society, in its growth, sometimes leaves people behind.

Other types of registered calls were made by people with mental problems, family and marital

difficulties and domestic violence. Some calls are even made by children to report abuse. Others call to request information regarding other organisations they need to contact.

The success of such a service, in terms of calls received, has its downside too. The fact that thousands of people do not have a friend or a relative to whom to open their heart with their problems but instead do so over the phone to someone unknown – although very helpful – is something that should make us all think.

It goes to prove that this service is desperately needed in our society which, in spite of the advances made in terms of lifestyle, has also allowed the number of people who consider themselves as being lonely or, worse still, as outcasts, to increase.

The increase in the number of calls received has prompted Appogg to issue a call for applications for more volunteers to be able to handle the

system better. Considering that the line is manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and seeing that the number of callers has reached

proportions that were unexpected a few years ago, the agency has thought it fit to issue a call for more volunteers.

The intentions are to have as many qualified people as possible to handle such calls, and to be able to afford the most time possible to people who are in need of help. We underline the word “qualified” because these volunteers need to undergo rigorous training before they can be put on the receiving end of such calls.

They have to know how to deal with anything from the most trivial of questions to delicate matters of the utmost urgency, and therefore the agency does well to train its volunteers to be able to handle all the situations that are thrown at them.

A service such as Supportline 179 deserves all the backing from the authorities to continue expanding its services. One also hopes that Agenzija Appogg receives enough applications from potential volunteers to continue offering a helping hand to people in need.

It is imperative that Appogg continues to offer the possibility of having someone to talk to in times of need, especially if family and friends do not seem to have the time or else simply turn their backs. As the statistics show, there are many people who find themselves in difficulty and have no-one to whom to turn.