Sikhhelpline

[simmal tree]

yes i think it could happen in bc like we could get all of the gurdwaras to sponsor us and get us one full hour of time on local radio stations like shere punjab or radio india and we could take calls from sikh youth during that time.

however i think most sikh youth will be more open to a phone line that they can anonymously call, and to a internet advice board.

bc sikh youth is apparently starting a q& a forum on their website but nothing is there yet..

lots of people want an alternative to SikhNet's q&a forum

but a helpline is something more useful perhaps.. because if it's 24/7 there can be an immediate response from a counselor to help you deal with your problem, whether it's drugs, abuse, relationships, etc.

[Heera Singh]

having a call-in thing on a t.v. station would be nice.. but i's not really gonna work for this... those questions people call in bout would probably be general questions.. the help line would be for those questions, as well as other personal stuff... for example if sum1's having family problems, or what not... or sum1 who's tryin to get off the 'wrong path' and tryin to get some positive sangat ... etc... etc... they could also choose to reveal their identity or stay anonymous... in cases like this, people usually prefer to stay anonymous, and like to deal with one person... rather their airing their stuff in public.. a 24/7 one WOULD be nice.. that requires a lot of commitment as well... but, we gotta start somewhere... it looks like we already got Kulpreet Veerji ready to maybe start somethin down in BC... and we'll start somethin down here in Ontario... we would also need a website n what not... startin somethin like this takes a lot of time and preparation... i's somethin i really wanna be a part of.. so maybe we should start somethin down here.. what y'all think?

[Princess]

I think it's a great idea, get a few singhs/singhnees who you all believe all dedicated and can help out the youth

The youth, especially the ones I see have questions, problems, concerns, and need guidance

They need a place where they can get their questions answered from. Even if the person trying to help out the individual can't entirely solve their problem, providing some guidance, some support, will make a huge difference in that individual's life. Just talking to someone, even if you know they don't have all the answers really helps a person out. It helps them get out their feelings, that they are normally afraid or hesitant to say/let out and it isn't good to keep feelings bottled up inside, because that leads to more problems in the future, and those feelings that they kept bottled up will be let out by means that will hurt the person in the end (i.e. going in the wrong direction). Talking to someone who went through what you're going through, or understands what you are going through and is not sitting their judging you makes all the difference in the world.

Start off by getting a few people together who you believe are interested and dedicated enough and set up meetings, where you guys can decide how to organize this and a way to get this started.

[simmal tree]

vaaheguroojeekaakhaalsaa

vaaaheguroojeekeefathehhhh !!!!!!

of course everything is in guru ji's hands and guru ji gets done whatever is in hukam. with guru ji's kirpa i would be happy to do any seva as long as the whole thing was going to be done according to gurmat... like all of the counselors would have to be amritdhari gursikhs and have some counselor certificate or degree or something.. and i think like you would have to be very careful with who you choose as a counselor because sometimes ONE conversation with ONE person can change a person's whole life because they make decisions based on that conversation and it all goes forward from those decisions. for example with situations of spousal abuse, or child abuse, or abuse by a community person or "religious" person, or in cases of gangs and drugs, or relationships - almost anything there is a risk of one person going and hurting another person either physically or emotionally... so whatever the counselor says should be in line with gurmat and have good counseling ideas behind it... you could not just get any random "uncle ji" or even any random sikh youth to be a counselor. it would have to be qualified people.

and that's just the sevadaars on that side, there's also the 24/7 aspect, and the 1-800 number, and the advertisement, etc. website is not a problem - there are so many web-savvy singhs/kaurs in bc sikh youth, ontario sikh youth, etc.

but my real concern is preventing it from going off the handle and being commercialized like the centennial foundation.

it is better to be smaller but be more useful rather than be big but useless.

what do you guys think?

please saadhsangat and guru ji forgive my mistakes

vaaaheguroojeekaakhaalsaa

vaaaheguroojeekeefathehhhhh !!!!!!!!

[Jaspaul Singh]

Ya .. seva is no problem there are many chardi kala gursikhs out there who can do this seva even being gupt ..

but ya i agree wit u .. having something small and more effective rather than something big and nothing coming out of it .. :wub: .. and i was just wondering how much is it to get a 1800 number ?

[simmal tree]

oh my god while reading your post i looked at your display picture of bhai sahib bhai jeevan singh jee

and he is holding a phone

i wish he could be the sevadaar for the helpline

hehe

[Jaspaul Singh]

VAAAAHEEEGUROOOOO

i didnt notice that .. but wouldnt THAT be something.....

[Heera Singh]

take a look at Kids Help Phone... i'm thinkin somethin like that would be good for the Sikh Youth..

what y'all think?

[Lion(LK)King]

Kids Help Phone seems like a good thing.

Suggestios by 'Simmal tree' are very valid, and do need to be taken into consideration.

I was thinking "you know, we're got so many chardikala gupt people out there who can do this", but 'Simmal Tree' jee brings extremely valid points.

These calls can chan ge the entire life of somebody. It would as 'Namastang' jee said, to get something 24/7 sorted at once. It would however be mindblowing, if someone could get ONE SIKH representative on one of those helplines already set up. I am sure they would not mind having a special person for calls made by Sikhs who WANT to speak to speak and have advice by a SIKH counsolor. But again it needs to be an educated professional counslor and someoen following Gurmat.

An alternative Sikhnet Q & A Section would be an amazing start, followed by someone professional joining one of these organisations set up, and as more and more people get educated into it, it can at some point become a 24/7 helpline.

Bhull chukk maaf

[Heera Singh]

discussions are under way, and hopefully, sevadars will start on a website soon... discuss will also take place with BC sevadars and what not to set up a 'fraction' in BC as well... over time, sevadars in each major city will hopefully be set up to serve the youth... but that will take a lot of time...

the sangat will be updated once things are under way.. :wub: ... also, suggestions would greatly be apprecated as well :TH: