Fund Childline and help a child every 45 seconds

Here for children when they have nowhere else to turn

Right now, children across the UK are struggling with issues like mental health problems, family relationships and bullying, feeling like they have nowhere to turn. In the most extreme cases, children are even self-harming or feeling suicidal. For some children, they may simply have no one else to talk to. They may be trapped in an unsafe home with someone who abuses them. For others, despite supportive families, they may not be able to find the words to speak to family members. Whatever the reason, it can leave children feeling desperate and alone.

On average, a child contacts Childline every 25 seconds, and with your help we can answer each call. We are continually reviewing and developing the Childline service with feedback from children and young people to ensure that it is meeting their needs. Over the next three years, we will be developing several new programmes within Childline. These include initiatives focused on reaching marginalised groups and tackling loneliness.

Since we launched this project, we have helped thousands of worried children over the Christmas period, answering 5,910 calls. We also launched our ‘We All Feel It’ campaign, aimed at young males to support them in reaching out for mental health support. We wanted to ensure that we build ongoing, trusted relationships with young males. We want to root ourselves in their world, in their online spaces, and in their cultural references so that we can guarantee they stay safe. James, 10 (name changed), was experiencing intense physical and emotional bullying at school, so bad that he was becoming suicidal. He called Childline when these thoughts became unmanageable, and we helped him gain the confidence to confide in his parents, and then his school. We know there are young males all across the UK who don’t feel able to reach out for support, and with our ‘We All Feel It’ campaign we can change that.

Over 90% of our income comes through donations, and we are extremely grateful for the support we have received from those who have donated. With just £4, you can help a counsellor answer a call from a scared child; a call which could be life-saving. Sioned, 13, (name changed) first called Childline when things were getting difficult at home with her mum being severely depressed. Sioned was struggling to function as a normal teenager and felt incredibly lonely and scared. One night when she was home alone, she made the harrowing decision to take an overdose. Luckily, she had heard about Childline and gave them a call. Thanks to this, the counsellor was able to ring an ambulance for her and saved her life. Because of your donations, we can continue to help children like Sioned change their lives for the better.

Links:

• NSPCC Website
• Childline Website