While the concept of child helplines is yet to catch up in the city, there are a few, who believe that it is accepted widely, then timely counselling and help could save many dejected lives. Rani Shetty Rani Shetty, coordinator of Mahila Sahaya Vani and Makala Sahaya Vani reasons out the depression score that is highly significant for suicide attempts. “Today’s teenagers are not open with their parents or teachers in school. They hesitate to create a friendly atmosphere, which is a wrong. The need of the hour is awareness programmes,” she says. The helpline has volunteers who counsel at many schools and it is mostly young boys and girls between 14 to 16 who come up to the counsellor and reveal their problems. “This itself is a clear indication that they are not open with their family members,” she says. Sinu Joseph, a volunteer for Vanitha Sahaya Vani and Makala Sahaya vani visits one school, every week for counselling. “I conduct an outreach programme targeting the adolescent age group. It is always a sheer shock to me when these young kids come up to me with various problems. Recently, I had some 10-15 girls who revealed their problems to me, which they could not tell their parents,” he says. According to him, parents, rather than being friendly with their children, try to take out their frustration. “These youngsters are often beaten if they ask for something and so they decide to keep mum at home. Small issues built over a period and only leads to disaster. A simple conversation between parents and children is becoming rare. This is on the rise especially among working parents. It is time that parents get alert and know what their children want.”