I want to help "I of that day" -Young people are lonely-June 2, 18:32
"I have wanted to die twice. When I was in elementary school and when I was in high school,"
says Kosei Ozora (23).
Two years ago, I started a chat where about 250,000 worries are received annually.
Once cornered to the limit, he is now facing young people who are suffering from "unwanted loneliness" as he was at the time.
"Tell us about your" loneliness "experience, post here"
Talking about the painful experiences of childhood
One day in March, Mr. Ozora gave a lecture at a learning and living support facility in Tokyo.
We are listening to young people who have difficulty living due to school refusal and bullying.
Koboshi Ozora, the representative of the NPO "Your Ibasho" "
I think there are many things that are difficult to talk to friends and family when you have a problem. Our consultation desk can talk via chat, so 2 in the middle of the night on your smartphone. If you say "it's hard" at any time or at 3 o'clock, you will be connected to a counselor. If there are people around you who want to talk, I'd be happy if you could spread the word about this. "
One child asked a question.
"What was the hardest thing you've ever done?"
Kosei Ozora
"I've always wanted to die twice. When I was in elementary school and high school. I was in sixth grade, but I've always been a single parent and my father.
" My dad was a messed up guy. So my life was reversed day and night, and when everyone went to school, I slept and woke up when I got home. That would make me unable to go to school. Maybe I'm an experienced child. I don't have it. "
" I couldn't keep up with my studies when I was in elementary school or even a little rest. I couldn't really study. That was a pain. "
At that time, his father sometimes used violence.
After that, she started to live with her mother, but she had almost no income, and when she was a high school student, she had a part-time job to earn living expenses and school expenses.
The teacher who said "I've come often"
The only thing that supported me was when I was in my third year of high school, when I met my homeroom teacher.
Koboshi Ozora
"When I was a high school student, I had a lot of part-time jobs, so I was able to go to school for the 5th hour. Everyone around me was living in a normal high school, but I was the only one who came in the 5th hour. A great gap. I suffered from a gap between when I was working and when I was a high school student, but my teacher was a teacher who said "I've come often". In my case, that teacher helped me a lot. "
Once I emailed" I want to die ", he rushed to my house. I was saved because I had a teacher. I have now. I have a little extra time since I met my teacher in the third grade. , Now I can study "
After that, I studied hard and went on to university.
In March 2020, while still in college, we created a consultation desk called "Your Ibasho" to respond to your worries by chat.
I want to make a place for people who feel lonely, just like I used to be unreliable.
It was from such a thought.
Chat consultation counter "Your Ibasho"
・ Chat consultation counter that responds 24 hours a day
・ Chat can be written anonymously, free of charge
・ Counselors are volunteers
・ For late-night consultation, use the time difference to live overseas People respond
“When you want to talk, now” on that safety net
Mr. Ozora asked in the lecture.
Mr. Ozora
"You have a school counselor at school. Can you talk? You can get a consultation card. Call the phone number?"
Participant
"No!"
Mr. Ozora
"I make reservations for school counselors through my homeroom teacher. Then, when I'm having a hard time, I tell my homeroom teacher," Please make a reservation for counselors, "and I only come once a week. When I was told, "Come in a week," and talked face-to-face. There are places where I can't pick it up. "
" I want you to imagine an ambulance as our role. I don't have surgery with an ambulance. Listen to the story and affirm it by the time you bring it to the hospital. And continuous consultation will be connected to the child counseling office etc. Each has a role ("Your Ibasho") I want to talk now I wonder if it's a safety net when it's difficult, when it's difficult, or when you can't talk to anyone. "
Behind the swelling consultation ... there are young people who can't rely on
Last year, about 250,000 consultations were received for "Your Ibasho".
It surged seven times over the previous year.
By age group, teens and 20s account for about 60% of the total.
Before the new semester, the ratio will be even higher.
Mr. Ozora thinks that there are many young people who are worried by themselves.
Kosei Ozora
"We call it" unwanted loneliness, "but even if there are people around us, we can't rely on it, and we are suffering alone. The increase in the number of consultations indicates such a situation. In Japan, it's embarrassing to talk to someone, or it's a sign that you're losing. It's spreading not only to adults but also to children. "
" Overcoming "unwanted loneliness" In order to do that, you have to connect with someone. Relying on someone is neither embarrassing nor defeating, so please know that you will rely on others. "
What is beyond the line of sight that wants to move the country
Mr. Ozora is now working on the country to take measures against loneliness.
The reason is that even if I do my best, I cannot deal with all the young people who are worried.
Mr. Kosei Ozora
"No matter how much we expand the consultation desk, we can't keep up with it. We can't keep up with it. The cat-and-mouse situation has accelerated further due to the Korona-ka. We have to create a situation in the region. Politics is the fastest way to change society. "
In April, the results of a fact-finding survey on the loneliness of the country in which I was involved as a committee member were announced.
It turns out that the younger generation has a higher percentage of people who feel lonely than the middle-aged and older.
"There is always a feeling of loneliness" "Sometimes"
▼ Teens 36.4%
▼ 20s 51.3%
▼ 30s 53.7%
▼ 40s 49.5%
▼ 50s 47.5%
▼ 60s 39.3%
▼ 70s 32.6%
(Cabinet Secretariat " From "Basic Survey on People's Connections")
Furthermore, 80% of those who "always feel lonely" answered that they "have not received the support of the government or NPOs."
From the survey, we can see the existence of young people who are enduring the "unwanted loneliness" that they felt at the consultation site.
A boy who was once unable to go to school due to family reasons and was cornered to the last minute.
The activity, which began to listen to the voices of those who became college students and also suffered from "unwanted loneliness," is about to move to the next stage.
Mr. Koboshi Ozora
"I don't think that active university students have ever been a member of the national committee or involved in grasping the actual situation. For loneliness and isolation measures, I dared to put in something like me. That's why I think that what I have to do is to take a different approach and put a different perspective into the policy. "
" The most important thing I learned from this survey. Is all about the feeling of loneliness in young people. In Japan, there is the problem of loneliness, so the problem of loneliness is equal to the image of elderly people, and the measures tended to emphasize the elderly. I feel that it is necessary to look again and take policies that meet the needs of young people. "
(Director of News Program Center, Toshinaga Nunoura, Reporter, Network News Department, Hiromi Akimoto)
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare "Mamorouyo Kokoro"
(Leave the NHK site)