Neste Oil to donate €20,000 to promoting mental health among the young

Rather than its normal seasonal greetings this year, Neste Oil has decided to donate €20,000 to the Finnish Association for Mental Health, to be used in promoting mental health among children and young people. The donation is intended to support the Association’s SOS Centre’s crisis assistance and rehabilitation work with children and young people in Helsinki, its national crisis helpline, and its mobile SOS unit.

The Association’s crisis helpline receives around 10,000 calls a month, and the proportion of callers under 18 has risen this year from the around 30% recorded previously. The mobile SOS unit is on call 24/7 and provides psychological first aid at accidents, in violent situations, and other crises in Greater Helsinki. During the recent tragic school shooting in Tuusula, the mobile SOS unit was on the scene around the clock, and the number of calls to the Association’s helpline rose dramatically.

The Finnish Association for Mental Health is a national organization devoted to promoting mental health, fostering voluntary work in the field, and offering support, assistance, and rehabilitation for people at times of crisis in their lives. The Association celebrated its 110th anniversary in 2007.