Kids Helpline is 24 hour service free counselling, targeting young people between the ages of 5 and 25. Counselling is provided through email, phone and over Internet. Kids Helpline counselors are responding to nearly 6,000 calls weekly in relation to issues that range from bullying, suicidal thoughts, to relationship breakdowns, homelessness, sexual abuse and alcohol and drug use.
Kids Helpline is a confidential and private free online and telephone counselling service designed specifically for the younger Australians between the ages of 5 and 25. The service gets in excess of 1 million calls every year. Counselors at Kids Helpline are fully trained experts who have undergone extra accredited training while working at Kids Helpline.
The online service aims at empowering young people through helping them to:
- Develop more options
- Understand and identify the consequences of a specific course of action
- Facilitating relationships that are more productive with friends and family
- Providing information on available local support services.
Kids Helpline is largely funded from the monies and revenue-raising BoysTown activities through their lotteries. Kids Helpline and BoysTown are both project of the De La Salle Brothers. Kids Helpline also gets supported from their specific state, federal and their corporate sponsor Optus as well as through fundraising events, individual donations plus trusts and foundations.
In the year 2012 Kids Helpline had 4,427 counselling calls received from children in Western Australia children related to the issue of bullying rose by 75 per cent. Kids Helpline gives support to Aussie kids at the point when they are feeling most vulnerable. Each minute daily, a young person or child is reaching out towards Kids Helpline in search of help as they are struggling with major issues like suicide family problems and mental illness.
Kids Helpline is manned 24/7 by counselors who are qualified and trained in supporting young people and children in need. In the year 2013 alone, there were nearly 390,000 attempts at reaching Kids Helpline counselors via online and telephone services. Regrettably, for every ten kids reaching out, 6 are able to get through, while 4 don't. The truth is that currently, Kids Helpline doesn't have the resources to be able to respond to every call made to them for help. However with your assistance, Kids Helpline could connect with additional Aussie kids.
Kids Helpline History
Kids Helpline officially launched services on 25 March, 1991. On the first day, more than 3,200 called in. Despite several hitches, in the initial 17 days, 122,000 calls got logged in. Within one year from opening day, Kids Helpline had in fact responded to 75,000 calls. By October 1993on Child Protection Week, Kids Helpline had registered 1-million calls. Since 1991, it has answered over 6 million online contacts and telephone calls.
Kids Helpline has expanded from state to state throughout Australia, and 1993 it became a national service. Counselling via email began in 1999 while in May 2000 the web counselling services were launched.
Kids Helpline Operational Principles
Callers are accorded anonymity and confidentiality:
- The caller is treated with due respect.
- Callers are free to decide the preferred gender of the counsellor they wish to speak to.
- The caller is able to access the very same counsellor in case they desire to call back.
- The caller is encouraged to give their feedback regarding Kids Helpline as well as the service received
- The caller is referred to expert/professional services if required
Kids Helpline Counselling methods
Counselling through Phone
This is available 24 hours daily, 7 days every week. Calls are free of charge on 1800 55 1800 and they also don't incur any phone carriers costs (when these are made inside Australia).
Web Counselling
These are accessible between 12pm and 10pm, from Monday to Friday, and between 10am and 10pm weekends (Queensland time). The caller requesting help speaks with a ready counsellor via an IMS.
Email Counselling
From time to time to get an email response could take up to 2 weeks. It is recommended that anybody seeking urgent help ought to get in touch with Kids Helpline through 1800 55 1800.
Why Kids Call Kids Helpline
Young people and children contact Kids Helpline for a variety of reasons. The most common concern among children between 5 and 18 are family relationships. In 2013, the top 10 issues for those between 5 and 25 contacting Kids Helpline were about:
- Family relationships
- Mental health issues
- Emotional health/wellbeing
- Suicide-connected concerns
- Dating/partner relationships
- Peer/friends relationships
- Self-harm or self-injury concerns
- Child abuse or issues of family violence
- self-esteem or self-image
- Bullying issues
News & Research
This section Kids Helpline contains their contacts, media releases, downloads, newsletters, reports, latest publications, hot topics, promotions, events and statistical information. It has resources for teachers and counselors.
Kids Helpline Values and Beliefs
The 2 chief values underpinning the Kids Helpline practice and work are child-centred practice and empowerment.
Kids Helpline People
Kids Helpline is a BoysTown service which is employing about 500 staff and a small but effective band of willing volunteers spread throughout New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia.
The vital services offered by Kids Helpline are not achievable exclusive of the untiring efforts of its support staff and trained counselors. The counselors get supported from a team of professionals coming from various backgrounds such:
- Management and Administration
- Human Resources
- Finance
- Fundraising
- IT and Business Systems
- Research
- Marketing and Communications
- Property and Fleet Management
Working for Kids Helpline
Kids Helpline has employed over100 professional counselors working around the clock in assisting Australian kids and young people. All the counselors are paid expert. To qualify becoming a Kids Helpline counsellor, you must be in possession of a relevant degree as well as 2 to 3 three years work experience/counselling. The Kids Helpline counselors work from Brisbane, Queensland.
Supporting Kids Helpline
Supporting to Kids Helpline can be done through a variety of ways including:
- Making a donation
- Workplace giving
- Buying a Prize Home Ticket
- Making a bequest
- Becoming a Hero
- Charity Hampers and cards
- It is my birthday
- Karma currency
- Events
- Entertainment book
