Abuse survivors’ free helpline seeks funding to tackle unanswered calls

A FREE professional helpline for survivors of abuse, which has had its budget slashed by 25%, says it needs to expand its services to deal with thousands of unanswered phone calls.

Connect, which is fully funded by the HSE, has seen a 30% average annual growth rate in calls between its first full year in 2007 and 2010 — rising from 4,630 to 10,321 calls. Of the calls in 2010, 8,403 were answered (82%), and 1,828 unanswered (18%).

Connect chief executive Anne Richardson said they had “some concerns” at the number of unanswered calls, which have risen since 2007.