Helplines NI, a network of 38 telephone support services, has awarded the Domestic and Sexual Abuse Helpline, which is hosted by Nexus, its Brendan Bonner Award for Innovation for its awareness campaign. The campaign, which ran in August 2022, was designed to challenge society’s perception of a ‘victim’, and broaden people’s awareness and understanding of the various forms that abuse can take. The campaign featured slogans developed by Nexus service users with lived experiences of abuse, explicitly highlighting all forms of abuse including financial abuse and coercive control. The Helpline’s statistics indicated a rise of 6 per cent in financial abuse presentations post-campaign.

Frankie Jordan, DSA Helpline coordinator, said: “It’s wonderful to have our campaign acknowledged by our peers. Our Domestic and Sexual Abuse Helpline provides support to any individual impacted by abuse 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and as abuse can present in many forms it was important to us that our campaign reached people who may not have considered themselves as someone who has experienced abuse. Our service offers direct support for individuals impacted by domestic or sexual abuse, including support to individuals concerned about someone experiencing domestic or sexual abuse, and our team works tirelessly to ensure callers feel safe to share their concerns. We also provide information on the next steps that can be taken to protect or safeguard those impacted, such as securing safe housing, reporting to police, alongside signposting and referrals to other specialist service providers.”

The Helplines NI Award is named in recognition of Brendan Bonner who was a driving force at Public Health Agency for raising awareness on the importance of helplines as a vital source of support for people in NI. It was awarded for the first time in 2020 to Parenting NI.

Clodagh Crowe, Chair of Helplines NI, said: “Nexus was selected as the recipient of our Brendan Bonner Award for Innovation because the panel agreed that the campaign powerfully utilised the lived experiences of service users and demonstrated how this creative thinking resulted in sustained increase in calls to the helpline, including an increase in first time callers. I’d like to commend all of our entrants. We know just how hard telephone services work to provide support for their service users and all of Northern Ireland’s helplines make a positive contribution to our health and social care landscape, and crucially, make a difference to people’s lives.”

The Helplines NI service combines the expertise of its various members including Samaritans, Advice NI, Rural Support, Lifeline and many more. All of these services are fully aware of the type of support offered by each other – a crucial addition to the landscape as it means despite where a person in need calls they will be directed to the most appropriate service for their needs, ensuring they receive support as efficiently as possible.

Claire O’Prey, Vice Chair of Helplines NI said: ““On average our members are experiencing a combined average of 10,000 calls a week which shows the necessity of telephone support services in times of need. Callers to our services report their mental health has been negatively affected by the cost-of-living crisis and we are seeing people who haven’t had to turn to a support service before are now seeking help for the first time. It’s important that any person struggling with whatever the issue knows that confidential, expert help is available through the Helplines NI network.”