Elder Line is a National Helpline for Senior Citizens (NHSC) set up by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJ&E https://socialjustice.gov.in/) in collaboration with National Institute of Social Defence (NISD http://www.nisd.gov.in/ ) and participating State/UT Governments.
Elder Line 14567 is a toll-free number operational from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM, that provides free information, guidance, emotional support, field intervention in cases of abuse, rescues and reunion of homeless elderly driven by values of Consistency, Care, Empathy and Encouragement.
Elder Line is set up with the experience gained from Telangana State helpline (Elder Spring) initiated by Tata Trusts along with Vijayavahini Charitable Foundation (VCF) in collaboration with Department of Welfare of Disabled and Senior Citizens, Government of Telangana.
MoSJ&E has partnered with Tata Trusts along with Vijayavahini Charitable Foundation and NSE Foundation for enabling operationalisation of Elder Line in all States/UTs.
Currently, Elder Line has four sets of services:
Information
- Health Related
- Shelter / Old Age Homes
- Day Care Centres
- Caregiver
- Elder Friendly Products Etc.
Guidance
- Legal
- Dispute Resolution
- Pension Related
- Government Schemes
- Maintenance issues
Field Intervention
- Care and support for Abused
- Rescue and Reunion of Homeless elderly
Emotional Support (for having just a chat)
- Anxiety resolution
- Relationship management & Family disputes
- Loneliness
Connect and engage with Senior Citizens and serve them in a compassionate manner.
Make a positive difference to the lives of senior citizens through a single platform by redressing grievances of the senior citizens, by providing necessary information and field intervention through a collective effort of highly committed partners including government agencies, non-profit organizations, private sector, organisations working for the senior citizen’s cause and volunteers.
- To reach out to every senior citizen in need and provide support and guidance.
- To disseminate information on Government schemes and programs for the welfare of senior citizens.
- To provide a platform to facilitate queries related to implementation of Government Programs.
- To provide a grievance redressal mechanism for senior citizens.
- To build up hope and trust amongst the senior citizens and help them age happily.
- To understand the various requirements of senior citizens, and, create necessary policies and implementation mechanism.
- Defined processes/backend software/ staff structure for the state level helplines
- Laid down standards of service delivery by State helplines
- Created training modules for staff of state helplines
- Developed a platform for data aggregation from state systems and generate the necessary reports and dashboards with adequate level of drill downs.
- Will undertake periodic quality assessment of calls handled by the state Helplines
- Will monitor the on-ground service delivery as per the standards set
- Will evolve an overall governance structure to drive the whole program across the country.
State Governments will own the program at the State level and will be responsible for the following:
- Identification of the agency for managing the State Helpline
- Procurement of hardware, software, and other equipment required for the State Helpline under the guidance of NIA
- Supporting the work of the State Helpline by coordinating with all state Government agencies, District administration and District level agencies to ensure smooth operations and effective service delivery for the senior citizens.
- Regular monitoring of the State Helpline services.
The state agencies will be coordinating with senior Citizens, government agencies, NGOs, old age homes, senior citizen groups and other agencies. At the state level, Elder Line will consist of a Connect centre where calls from senior citizens will be received and will also consist of field officers who will work towards resolution of problems indicated by senior citizens by working closely with all the on-ground partners.
