Cătălina Surcel: Saving lives at the end of the line. The story of the Child Helpline

Cătălina Surcel, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Child Helpline Association, shares the mission behind 116111 and the impact of a national support network for children in crisis.

Cătălina Surcel is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Child Helpline Association, an NGO with over 20 years of experience that provides the European harmonized number for child helplines 116111, known among children as “Telefonul Copilului” (the Child Helpline). Created to respond to children’s counseling needs, the helpline represented, in 2006, a unique support initiative for children in Romania.

C&B: If we were to look at a narrative thread of your career, what were the key defining moments?
Cătălina Surcel: My life is forever connected to the lives of children. It has been and will remain so. I grew up alongside the generations of children  my mother taught in a rural community, where she found, in an almost magical way, the strength to be there day after day and guide their steps toward knowledge.

My career could not have followed another path but one about and for children. I have always wanted to find a way to improve the lives of children whom no one listens to. That opportunity came in 2001, when I was invited to join the consortium responsible for the development and implementation of  the national awareness campaign “A Children’s Home Is Not a Home.” At the time, I held the position of  key account manager in a private company, while also having been engaged in social initiatives.

I thereby participated at the launch of what I believe to have been the first and largest social campaign ever carried out in Romania, “A Children’s Home Is Not a Home”, having taken the responsibility for designing and managing the first helpline information and counseling service, dedicated at that time to parents in difficulty, the “Green Line for Child Protection.” That’s where it all started. This is how I learned about many critical situations children were facing and, at one point, I asked myself: What if we made from listening to children’s voices a priority?  Let’s give children a voice to speak themselves for their problems!

This led to the idea of creating an organization to respond to children’s counseling needs: the Child Helpline Association. That wish was fulfilled in 2006, allowing me to further develop and bring this service closer to children, following the completion of projects carried out during Romania’s pre-accession period to the European Union.

During the same year, the Child Helpline Association became a full member of Child Helpline International, alongside other organizations which provide child helpline services globally. Child Helpline International is the global alliance that today brings together 155 member organizations from 133 countries, an alliance in which Romania is represented by the Child Helpline Association.

Starting from 2010, I held the position of Deputy Regional Representative and from 2014 I served as Principles, Standards and Practices Taskforce Representative within Child Helpline International, following the vote of European member organizations of this vast international network.

I committed to contribute to the revision of annual quality assessment tools for organizations which delivered the services of the European harmonized number for child helplines 116111, as well as to identifying training needs following the evaluation process of individual organizations .

One of my greatest satisfactions was to offer support and expertise for the establishment of other child helplines in European countries such as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Moldova.

C&B: What has been the most difficult moment in your journey so far and how did you overcome it?
Cătălina Surcel: The most difficult moments in my journey, at the Child Helpline, have been those when I had to confront the harsh realities faced by children seeking our help—situations that someone raised in a happy family could not have ever imagined.

The first call from a teenage girl, on the verge of suicide, in 2019 was devastating.https://hotnews.ro/povestea-fetei-care-a-sunat-la-telefonul-copilului-si-a-spus-ca-se-sinucide-ea-este-victima-asa-cum-afirma-a-abuzului-sexual-din-partea-tatalui-vitreg-dar-nimeni-nu-a-crezut-o-301307

Her call to 116111 meant rescue, as did many others that followed, which unfortunately we got more and more often. We manage to save lives and that  should completely fulfill me, yet I cannot help feeling sadness knowing that for some children life is black and white only.

At the same time, I felt even more motivated to move forward and put an end to the harm done to these children. I regarded it all as a mission for which I felt grateful, as if we had somehow been chosen to fulfill it. Every single day.

And we were not wrong. For severe cases such as suicide attempts and runaway children cases, my organization worked closely with the Romanian Police and emergency medical services. Our intervention always mattered. We have never lost a single child and that is our greatest achievement at the Child Helpline Association—the engine of our energy and motivation.

C&B: What are the most significant changes or results you have observed in the community since the Child Helpline began operating?
Cătălina Surcel: Over time, we have seen children gain the courage to speak about their problems, claim their rights and find solutions by calling 116111. The Child Helpline Association has provided over 115,000 long-term counseling sessions to children and adolescents in Romania. This reflects not only the necessity of our services but also the trust children place in us.

At the same time, the problems children share allow us to understand their current challenges and to address them at community and authorities levels through campaigns and projects.

In 2019, their voices mobilized us to organize the National Anti-Bullying Forum at the Palace of the Parliament, a unique event in Romania dedicated to public policy debates on combating bullying. The Forum helped formalize efforts to introduce this type of abuse into legislation, an achievement that earned us the First Prize in the Education category at the 2020 Radio România Cultural Gala.

Awareness projects and campaigns such as “Stop Bullying,” “BeCyberSafe,” “Unwanted Touches” and “BeDrugFree” would not have been possible without the voices of children who expressed their vulnerability when facing these challenges.

C&B: How did you look at the beginning of your journey and how do you feel you have transformed?
Cătălina Surcel: I remember my thoughts at the beginning of this long journey. I was happy, motivated, excited to help. Twenty-five years later, today, I feel that each case in which my team and I made a difference in a child’s life has become inseparably tied to my life and soul.

This path has profoundly transformed me, changing my frame of reference, my perspectives and the way I see life. I would like to call myself lucky and perhaps I am, but I prefer not to. What I have learned is unfortunately rooted in human suffering that I would choose to prevent at any cost.

My journey at the Child Helpline will end only when the phone no longer rings. I await that wonderful day with emotion, joy and hope. On that day, I will look at myself in the mirror with the pride of someone who knows she changed the world.

C&B: If we met your team or collaborators, what do you think they would say about you?
Cătălina Surcel: I have always had a dedicated, permanent team of professionals and wonderful people by my side, which has been decisive in everything I set out to accomplish. Thanks to them, I became stronger for all that followed. Many of them have been with me since the very beginning and I believe that speaks a lot about how they see both Cătălina Surcel and the journey we have shared for over two decades.

Recently, I received an important recognition at the “People of the Year 2025” Gala organized by the Romanian Television. The most emotional moment for me was hearing the thoughts of some of the people with whom I carry out this mission. I am happy to share that material created by the Romanian Television TVR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trryIUk4ey4, allowing those close to me to speak about me.

C&B: What was the most important decision that changed your trajectory?
Cătălina Surcel: The decision to transform a project into a permanent mission for children was responsible yet bold. Imagine how many mindsets we had to change, both within state institutions and among families involved in the cases we manage. We were young people ready to “move mountains,” change lives, modify procedures and long-standing ideas rooted in a distorted reality. Yet I met people who supported and encouraged me.

Following the evaluation of the impact of the “Green Line for Child Protection” within the projects “A Children’s Home Is Not a Home” and “Your Rights Are Law,” the results convinced the Delegation of the European Commission in Bucharest to ensure the service’s sustainability until Romania joined the EU. Until 2006, I sought solutions to maintain the free helpline and expand it further toward children. I researched similar services across Europe and gathered information to prepare a feasibility study on the future of the Romanian service. In late 2005, I presented the study to Romanian authorities and the Delegation of the European Commission. The recommendation to establish an NGO to manage the service was accepted.

Thus, the “Green Line for Child Protection” became the permanent mission “The Child Helpline,” namely the Child Helpline Association.

Later, together with Child Helpline International, we influenced the European Commission’s decision to establish a single European number for the Child Helpline. Starting from 2008, 0800 8 200 200 became 116111.

C&B: What is the essence of the Child Helpline mission and why is such a support network so important in Romania?
Cătălina Surcel: The essence of our mission is to offer children a safe, confidential and free space where they can talk about any problem affecting them.

We provide counseling services and intervene when children’s lives are at risk. We also respond to parents and it is very important that we can find solutions together. Our mission is possible thanks to the support of Orange Romania, our most important partner, which ensures that calls to 116111 are free of charge.

Over time, the Association has saved tens of thousands of children from abuse, aggression and decisions with severe consequences. We have handled serious cases: a girl calling while standing on railway tracks, a teenager calling from the forest with the intention to end his life, a girl who had taken antidepressant pills and alcohol having been a victim of the sexual abuse by her stepfather, another adolescent overwhelmed by her father’s severe illness. Situations that seem like movie scripts, not reality.

It is vital that children know we are there at the other end of the line. We understand how important and responsible our role is when providing this resource: the child helpline 116111.

Our greatest achievement is that we have never lost a single child. We collaborate closely with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Health, because in such cases every second counts.

The importance of this support network in Romania is confirmed by the large number of phone and online contacts. Not all children grow up in loving, protective families. For some of them, the Child Helpline is the only way to be heard.

The presence of 116111 in school textbooks represents the official recognition of the quality and usefulness of our services.

C&B: How do you define the role of a director in an organization focused on child protection and wellbeing?
Cătălina Surcel: This role requires responsibility—ensuring every decision places the child at the center. It is not merely administrative but a total commitment to our mission.

I see it as balancing vision and implementation, firm decisions and deep understanding of children’s realities. It also means protecting a safe, confidential space where every child’s right to be heard and supported is respected.

Advocacy is essential: being children’s voices where they cannot be present, influencing public policies and raising awareness about their rights and needs.

Equally important is building and maintaining an organizational culture based on empathy, professionalism and care, because you cannot offer real support to children if you do not first care for your team.

Such a complex role requires empathetic, firm and responsible leadership capable of responding to children’s evolving needs.

C&B: What does a typical day look like now and what brings you the greatest satisfaction?
Cătălina Surcel: My days are divided between family, the organization and my academic journey.

At home, I enjoy being a mother. There is no greater joy for me and my husband than spending time with our son. We cherish sharing our daily experiences—our son from school, me from the Child Helpline and my husband from the hospital, where he also saves lives.

At the organization, my greatest satisfaction comes from the feeling of mission accomplished—each case where a child in danger is saved through a call to 116111, or when children and parents thank to us for our intervention.

My academic path is part of my continuous development. I am building myself every day, discovering meaningful ingredients for what I wish to achieve.

C&B: How do your services function in practice—from crisis calls to counseling and intervention?
Cătălina Surcel: Calls to 116111 are not recorded, ensuring children’s trust and confidentiality, except for the situations when their lives are in danger.

Since the pandemic, children feel safer behind screens and online counseling requests have increased. We reconfigured our team to respond wherever children feel comfortable—by phone or online. We launched the online counseling platform 116111.ro and the first mobile app offering direct access to counseling services: Happygraff.

Only professionals answer calls and online contacts—psychologists, psychotherapists and social workers—because the responsibility is enormous.

Children’s psycho-emotional issues account for the majority of our counseling sessions: : family conflicts , need for communication, loneliness, exclusion, identity crisis, anxiety, depression, behavioral disorders.

Life-threatening cases are handled together with the Romanian Police and the emergency medical services.  Cases of children’s rights violations are referred to relevant institutions we have signed partnership agreements with. We also monitor the resolution of each case.

C&B: How do you see children’s and families’ needs evolving and how does the Child Helpline adapt?
Cătălina Surcel: In the current social context, we observe major trends reshaping children’s needs. Technology brings opportunities and new risks, from cyberbullying and screen addiction to exposure to inappropriate content.

Children have access to over 500,000 mobile apps claiming to be educational, yet only a small fraction are evaluated as such. AI-based applications are already perceived by some children as friends or confidents.

Today’s children grow up hyperconnected yet often emotionally isolated. Psycho-emotional issues among those contacting us are alarming and signal a wake-up call for parents, society and authorities.

Adapting means expanding strategic partnerships, continuously adjusting services, training our team, diversifying counseling tools and online communication channels and developing educational resources.

We address challenges through national awareness and prevention campaigns, especially online safety, increasingly involving parents. We encourage parents to mentor their children in their digital journeys. Technology is a family responsibility.

Our ongoing challenge is to anticipate future needs, especially regarding artificial intelligence, and ensure that no social change leaves vulnerable children behind.

Cătălina Surcel’s journey is one of courage, responsibility and a mission that evolved from a project into a lifelong commitment. The 116111 Child Helpline is more than a service, it is a safe space, a source of hope and often the only voice children in crisis can rely on.