“The Smile of the Child” supported 48.403 children and their families in 2021
01 February 2022
PRESS RELEASE
“The Smile of the Child” supported 48.403 children and their families in 2021
01 February 2022
- A total of 204.791 calls received at its Help/Hotlines (1 call every 2 sec)
- 45,57% of calls were made by children seeking psychological support
- 28,81% made use of the CHAT 1056 application
- 1 call per day concerned requests for psychological support in cases of bullying
- High percentage of calls for Fear/Stress Management (9,72%)
- More than one case of suicidal ideation per day
Athens, February 2nd, 2022
"The Smile of the Child" presented a Review of its actions for 2021 on Tuesday, 1 February 2022, announcing the total number of children and families it supported through all its specialized and holistic actions for children victims of violence, missing children, children with serious health problems and children and families living in poverty.
"Today we are announcing the established Annual Review of Actions for 2021, in the midst of problems related to natural disasters and issues that afflicted and continue to afflict the Greek society, such as the covid-19 pandemic. For the past 26 years "The Smile of the Child" has been fighting daily battles. The trust of people in our Organization is based on the systematic work that is being done and the results of this work," stated by the President of the Board of Directors of the Organization, Mr. Costas Υannopoulos.
"We are very proud because, according to our new statistics, children finally trust us and 45,57% calls were made by them. At the same time, however, we express our concern because in 2021 we may have holistically supported 48.403 children and their families, but every day, 24 hours a day, we experience horrific situations on the frontline, which indicate that children are living in a state of great crisis. They are experiencing a crisis in resolving problems, a crisis in managing the pandemic, a crisis related to irregularity in the school environment. Behind these numbers are hidden some explosive situations that are evolving in the Greek society. Every number is a young or older child who suffers, a woman who is being abused. "The Smile of the Child" belongs to the Greek society, which is why the support of its work is an issue for all of us. Financial reports and wishlists are not enough. Let us all join our forces for our children, it is our only hope for the future".
During the Press Conference, Mr. Stefanos Alevizos, Psychologist and Coordinator of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children of “The Smile of the Child”, presented the qualitative representation of the statistics, emphasizing that this pandemic leaves its own imprint on the lives of children, and this is recorded through the official statistics of the Organization.
In 2021 The National Helpline for Children SOS 1056 received a call every two minutes for a case of a child in danger. These were children who have been abused or neglected by their relatives or their close family environment. It is very important to emphasize that the profile of the children recorded by the Helpline has to do with girls, adolescents who mainly felt neglected. So once again the phenomenon of sexual abuse and harassment “remains a secret”, as the title of the nationwide campaign carried out by "The Smile of the Child" reflects, a campaign that calls on everyone to participate in order to awaken our fellow citizens, mobilize the reflexes of the services and give the opportunity to children and people who are in danger to call and ask for help ", said Mr. Alevizos.
In conclusion, Mr. Yannopoulos gave special emphasis to the strategic institutional collaborations that the Organization developed in 2021 and in early 2022, such as the Cooperation Agreement with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, as well as the new services developed and the goals for 2022. In addition, he referred to the universal recognition of the Organization according to the nationwide survey conducted voluntarily by the company Focus Bari, which ranked "The Smile of the Child" in the 1st place and with 92% of recognition, among the NGOs of the country.
The Minister of Finance, Mr. Christos Staikouras, spoke about the New Mobile Medical Unit / Health Clinic that will be acquired by "The Smile of the Child", as the Unit is funded by the Ministry of Finance. The General Secretary of Digital Governance, Mr. Leonidas Christopoulos, spoke about the "Smile net" Program, representing the Minister of Digital Governance, Mr. Kyriakos Pierrakakis. This is a program that will digitally upgrade all the services provided by the Organization and is being implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Government.
Analytically, based on the statistics for 2021:
"The Smile of the Child" supported 22.567 children victims of Violence
Prevention
- 17.871 male and female students participated in interactive interventions
- 5.757 parents and guardians participated in interactive interventions
- 3.595 teachers participated in interactive interventions
- 829 professionals participated in interactive interventions
- In total, 622 interactive interventions were carried out nationwide
Counseling support
- The European Helpline for Children and Adolescents 116111 received 2.437 calls
- 3.610 people received counseling support through 2.437 calls to the European Helpline for Children and Adolescents 116111, through 1.040 communications at CHAT 1056, 8 communications on the social media of the Organization, and h 6 live meetings
- 1.645 children called the European Helpline for Children and Adolescents 116111 asking for help for themselves
- 1.905 parents called the European Helpline for Children and Adolescents 116111 asking for help for their children
National Helpline for Children SOS 1056
- The National Helpline for Children SOS 1056 received and managed 190.153 calls, which in detail means: 520 calls per day / 21 calls per hour / 1 call per minute
- Through the information provided from the media we managed to provide support in 842 serious cases of 656 children and 187 adults at risk
Intervention / Treatment / Support for children victims of all forms of violence
- We received and managed 884 reports from identified or anonymous callers related to 1.559 children
- We proceeded with 141 direct interventions for 203 children who were in immediate danger
- We received 167 hospitality requests for 239 children
- Today 333 children are growing up in our 11 Homes
- We support our 89 adult children
- In our Day Center were provided therapeutic sessions for 135 children
- We supported 76 children with their mothers, who have suffered domestic violence
"The Smile of the Child" stood next to 911 children & 81 adult victims of disappearances
Prevention
- 787 male and female students participated in interactive interventions
- 651 parents and guardians participated in interactive interventions
- 641 teachers and professionals participated in interactive interventions
- In total, 55 interactive interventions were carried out nationwide
European Hotline for Missing Children 116000
- The European Hotline for Missing Children 116000 received and managed 11.028 calls
Intervention / Treatment / Support for Missing Children
- We handled 124 requests in finding 124 missing children, of which 109 children were finally found
- AMBER ALERT was activated for 4 children
- “Thanasis Makris" Search & Rescue Team was activated for 8 children
- There was a 23% increase in the number of children disappearance cases we managed
Intervention / Treatment / Support for Missing Adults
- We handled 81 requests in finding 81 missing adults aged 19 to 60, of whom 68 were finally found
- MISSING ALERT was activated for 31 adults
- "Thanasis Makris" Search & Rescue Team was activated for 28 adults
- There was a 62% increase in the number of adult disappearance cases we managed
"The Smile of the Child" supported 7.997 children with Health problems
Prevention
- 4.021 preventive examinations were performed on 2.914 children
Transportation of infants, children and adults
- 414 infants (0 to 30 days old) were transported, of which 82 in an incubator
- 1.797 infants, toddlers, children and adolescents were transported
- 1.309 adults were transported
Support for children with health problems
- 1.602 children with health problems were supported holistically, covering a total of 6.014 requests
- 294 children participated in the program of recreational activities in hospitals as new admissions. We carried out a total of 2.321 actions of recreational activities
- 6 families were hosted in the Organization's apartments in Athens and Thessaloniki while the children were being hospitalized or receiving special treatment
- 426 children were examined in the 2 Medical Clinics of the Organization by a Pediatrician, Ophthalmologist, Otolaryngologist and Dentist, through 559 visits
Pediatric Home Care
- 544 children participated in the Pediatric Home Care Program
- A total of 5.036 visits were made by Doctors, Nurses, Social Workers, Physiotherapists
Blood Donation
- Voluntary blood donation actions were carried out in the Mobile Operational Center "Odysseus" and in 27 stations nationwide. As a result, 1.067 bags of blood were collected
Vaccinations
- We participated in the "Freedom" operation, assisting in more than 460.000 vaccinations on islands and Northern Greece
"The Smile of the Child" supported 16.928 children with welfare problems
Support for children and their families who are living in or are threatened by poverty
- 16.878 children were supported with a holistic approach through our Support Centers nationwide
- 50 children are growing up in the 3 Day Care Homes of the Organization
Read the detailed statistical information for 2021 at the following link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BA9GCj6_G9TPuVrErSOFkbi4OnY7bb3P?usp=sharing
Watch the full Press Conference at the following link:
