About Boloh Helpline
Boloh Helpline is a service launched on the 1st October by Barnardo’s with funding from the National Emergencies Trust. The Helpline is a response to the impact of the pandemic on Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities who have been disproportionately affected.
Helpline staff are either Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic community, or have prior professional experience of delivering services to children, young people and their families from these communities.
How can we help?
Are you a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic child, young person, parent or carer, affected by Covid-19? If yes, you may have experienced bereavement, loss, unemployment, financial difficulties, concerned about your child’s schooling or future, worried about a friend or family, stressed and anxious about lockdown. In addition to these, you might be worried about other issues. You can speak to us about your worries, problems and stresses during this time and we can provide emotional support, practical advice and signposting to other organisations who can provide further help.
The support we provide is for you and the child(ren) you care for. You can call or chat with us via the web chat facility available on our website. You do not need to share your details with us, but if you want to be referred to our team of therapists or another service, we will need to take your details and share it with your consent. You can also access on our website helpful advice on a range of matters e.g. emotional wellbeing, supporting families, grief and loss.
What happens when you make contact with the helpline?
You will receive a response from a friendly Helpline Advisor who will talk to you about what you and/or your child(ren) are experiencing. The Helpline Advisor will listen to you and support you in making a decision about the kind of support and advice you require. With your agreement, the Helpline Advisor could have a number of calls with you and they can arrange to call you back at a time suitable to you.
The Helpline Advisor can arrange for you and/or your child(ren) to speak to one of our therapists to have six counselling sessions and further sessions could be offered if required. The sessions which will take place over the phone either once or twice a week, depending on the needs and circumstances of your family. The first and sixth session will be for 45 minutes to allow for an initial baseline assessment to be made of three key challenges the family or individual are facing, with the final session to discuss and note progress made during the service. Sessions two to five, of 30 minutes each, will comprise therapeutic support to address the key challenges identified in the first session.
Making contact
Our Vision is to see Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic children and young people develop their inner strength to respond to the challenges of the pandemic and beyond. We would very much like to work with you to achieve this vision, so please talk to us if you need support by making contact via:
Free phone: 0800 151 2605
Email: Boloh.helpline@barnardos.org.uk
Webchat: Click the icon in the bottom right corner