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Lending Their Time And Ear

Tampa Tribune photo by ANDY JONES

Nelida "Nellie" Zamora, left, 23, a University of South Florida student, and Linda Farfante chat with youngsters as part of Northside Mental Health Care Center's PhoneFriend program. Farfante is the director of the program.

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By JOYCE McKENZIE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 1, 2008

UNIVERSITY AREA - At times, every child needs a caring, communicative comrade.

To that end, Northside Mental Health Center operates PhoneFriend, a telephone hot line for latchkey children seeking assistance with homework or wanting to discuss more personal issues.

Some also call to access the program's story and joke lines. It is open to all public elementary school latchkey students throughout Hillsborough County every weekday of the school year.

Earlier this year, PhoneFriend director Linda Farfante and volunteers sent out 153,000 brochures and stickers with the program's phone number, (813) 681-6543, for distribution to area students. She said more than one-third of Florida's latchkey kids - children who go home to empty dwellings because their parents are working - live in the Tampa Bay area.

"Those numbers have greatly increased since the program began in 1984, and so has the number of calls we get," she said. "On average, we log about 10,000 calls a month."

PhoneFriend is manned by volunteers in an office on the second floor of the mental health center on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. Phone lines are open from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 2:30 to 5 p.m. Friday.

"I think the fact that we can work one-on-one with them means so much," Farfante said. "Most of our kids just need help with their homework and want a warm voice to talk to. But all our volunteers are trained to handle emergency calls and, if necessary, will contact the appropriate service for the caller."

Sylvia Traina, president of the Auxiliary of the Northside Mental Health Center, finds the number of kids who use the program "amazing."

"I think we all enjoy working together for the good of these children," she said. "It's so rewarding because we know it actually helps."

Nelida "Nellie" Zamora, 23, is in the midst of earning her master's degree in mental health counseling at University of South Florida and is a second-year PhoneFriend volunteer.

"What I've found to be my biggest joy is knowing I've given a child a feeling of self-satisfaction when he's able to solve a problem," Zamora said. "I'm just here to guide them through their options, but I let them make up their own minds."

She especially enjoys helping children with personal issues.

"I've been through some of those same problems, and I wish I'd had this kind of program when I was in school," said Zamora, who noted she was raised in a single-parent home by a mother who worked two jobs to support her and her brother. "Sometimes, they just need to vent."

Although most callers are met with warm greetings from USF students or area high school students who, in lieu of compensation, receive community service credit for their time, there are expenses associated with the program.

In addition to the costs of the brochures, stickers and basic supplies, there are electricity and telephone bills and a portion of Farfante's salary.

"The brochures alone cost us between $7,500 and $8,000," said Farfante, also Northside's community relations coordinator. "All our expenses have got to be paid for through donations or a grant."

The auxiliary, which provides almost all the funding for PhoneFriend, presents its premier fundraising event, "Puttin' on the Glitz," on Oct. 30. It will include live and silent auctions, dinner and performances by the song-and-dance ensemble Entertainment Revue.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: "Puttin' on the Glitz," a fundraiser for the Auxiliary of the Northside Mental Health Center

WHERE: TPepin's Hospitality Centre, 4121 N. 50th St., Tampa

WHEN: From 6 to 11 p.m. Oct. 30 (reservation deadline is Oct. 20)

HOW MUCH: Individual seating starts at $75.

INFORMATION: Call 988-1711.

Reporter Joyce McKenzie can be reached at (813) 865-4849 or jmckenzie@tampatrib.com.

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