From the bottom of our hearts at Muslim Youth Helpline, we want to say thank you for being with us through this difficult time. At the beginning of Ramadan we were at a loss. We had to ditch all our fundraising plans, and we had a huge surge in enquiries which left us scrambling to find extra money to fund more frontline staff. While we were trying to fundraise, over on the service Ramadan meant Coronavirus, lockdown, hopelessness, and suicidal feelings. People have been experiencing trauma on a scale we have never seen before.
About half way through Ramadan, our very own Ramadan miracle occurred. On a particularly difficult day, I wrote a post, cried, and switched off my computer. It was all I could do. The community rallied overnight, and we had hundreds of people getting in touch asking what they could do to help. A team of friends on Twitter got together and raised over £10,000. A group of doctors created the #HeroesinHeadphones campaign and raised £2,000 in just a few days. And hundreds of other supporters sent in donations, starting from £1 all the way in to the hundreds of pounds. As each donation notification came up, the team at the helpline realised we are not alone.
Our community cares about helping young people through the issues caused by the terrible effects of Coronavirus and lockdown and the hopelessness, trauma and suicidal feelings that come with this difficult time we are in. The wonderful team at MYH put in incredible effort both to raise funds, and to help those in need on the helpline.
Your donations have helped us take almost 2,000 enquiries in the last three months. It has helped us to almost double our capacity. Without your support funding extra Helpline Workers on the helpline, those people would not have got the help they so desperately need.
Thank you for answering our prayers.
MYH is always here to support, via phone, web chat and email. You can get in touch with us here.
The last few months have been difficult for most of us. The effect of trauma continues, and we still have higher rates of suicidal calls, anxiety, and hopelessness. The constant need for support has only become higher, and we still need you to help support those in distress.
What we really need to ensure we can continue to help, is regular monthly donations. You can support us with a little or as much as you like, here.
Yours,
Zohra Khaku