TEHRAN -- Some 70 new centers for emergency social services will be launched and developed nationwide by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2019), Reza Ja’fari, the director of Emergency Social Services Organization, has said.

“Last year, 150 centers for emergency social services were established, and we are planning to add 70 more centers by the end of the current year,” Fars quoted Ja’farias saying on Friday.

In 2016, some 197 centers were launched and also 297 minivans for social services were equipped. 

The number of centers offering emergency social services in Tehran was limited. Currently, there are 17 centers providing the citizens with emergency social services in Tehran, Jafari added.

These centers will be set up on the outskirts of the cities and areas where the residents are suffering social marginalization. People can call hotline 123 to report any social harms they witness including child abuse, suicidal behaviors, street children, and family violence. Experts at centers for emergency social services offer phone consultations and attend the scene of violence and abuse in emergency cases.

FB/MQ/MG