On Sept. 6, the Abu Dhabi Department of Community Development, in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Emergency Crisis and Disasters Committee for the Covid-19 pandemic, launched the You Matter campaign, an initiative designed to provide mental health support to the worker population.

According to DCD’s official website, the campaign is being implemented by psychologists whose role is to provide workers with necessary advice to remain well and optimistic by incorporating simple habits like journaling. The DCD encourages workers who experience sadness, anxiety or self-harm to contact their mental health hotline — 800 937292 — staffed by trained responders who will attempt to address the subject's challenges in “simplified scientific ways” through “psychological solutions and interventions.”.

The campaign is designed in eight languages in order to accommodate the largest possible population of workers. In addition, it offers a number of workshops, awareness campaigns and leaflets, along with meal provisions that have been ongoing over the course of the pandemic.

The hotline has attracted great attention from numerous local news sources including Khaleej Times, The National and Gulf News. The Gazelle was interested in learning more about the specific ways in which its responders tackle each individual case.

The Gazelle reached out to an Urdu speaker to call the hotline in Urdu on Sept. 9, at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. They noted that they had to wait around 7 minutes before someone picked up the first time around.

“They answered in Arabic and proceeded in English when they realized that I can't speak Arabic,” they noted. “They were very polite in answering and told me that they will have someone call me in the next 10 minutes.” They eventually did not receive a call back, and when they tried calling again, no one picked up.

The Gazelle then reached out to an Arabic speaker to learn more about their experience. “I called them three times trying the Arabic line, but no one replied and I was on hold for like five minutes ... I also tried calling them in English, but again, no one replied,” they shared. They also noted that they later attempted texting the hotline’s WhatsApp service in Arabic, and waited long for a response while they were online. “Once they finally replied, I asked like: can I know more about the services you offer … but I haven’t gotten a reply.”

This hotline is one of many mental health campaigns piloted by the UAE especially during the Covid-19 pandemic and is the only one specifically targeting workers. "The workers are an essential part of society and we are working in parallel with the specialists in Abu Dhabi to identify their needs," said H.E. Hamad Ali Al Dhaheri, Undersecretary of the Department of Community Development. “We are keen to empower the needy and vulnerable by providing moral support and the basic needs.”