I recently visited the Childline offices in Prestatyn and interviewed Sally King -Sheard who is the Volunteer Co-ordinator for Childline. Sally gave me an overview of the work of Childline and some of the history of the organisation.

Her interview will be played on THE SUNDAY SPECIAL this Sunday.

For the past 25 years ChildLine has been a trusted friend that any child or young person in the UK can turn to when they need someone there for them: a friend that will listen, understand them, treat them with respect and offer help, advice and support in confidence.

ChildLine began on 30 October 1986, launched by Esther Rantzen, in response to a plea from children. That first year, ChildLine spoke to 23,000 children who desperately needed a voice and since then ChildLine has spoken to more than 2.6 million children and young people about concerns ranging from bullying to sexual abuse.

ChildLine Prestatyn statistics

In the last year (April 2010-March 2011) ChildLine counselled over 265,000 contacts from children who may have otherwise had no one to turn to for help.

In the same period, counsellors at the ChildLine base in Prestatyn counselled more than 17,000 children and young people either by phone or online.

The top five reasons why children contacted ChildLine in Prestatyn last year (with number of contacts and percentage of contacts) were:

Family relationships – 2,086 (13%)

Bullying – 2,037 (12%)

Physical abuse – 1,426 (9%)

Sexual abuse – 1,190 (7%)

Facts of life – 937 (6%)

ChildLine online service

Over the years childhoods have changed, and ChildLine has changed with them. In October 2009 the ChildLine online service launched, offering live help and advice online for the first time.

New figures show that the number of ChildLine contacts from children troubled by suicide, depression and self-harm has significantly increased since the introduction of the online service.
In 2010-11, the first full year in which the online service was available, counsellors at the ChildLine base in Prestatyn counselled 1,676 children about depression, self harm and suicide. Of these, 931 contacts were online and 745 were over the phone. This compares to the previous year where counsellors dealt with 711 phone enquiries on the same issues.

These three problems are now among the main reasons why children seek online help from a ChildLine counsellor. But they do not feature in the top ten calls.

By developing the online service, ChildLine has been able to reach out to more of these very troubled children who are struggling to cope with complex problems that are blighting their lives, and may not have contacted ChildLine otherwise.

Volunteering for ChildLine

The ChildLine base in Prestatyn is in urgent need of volunteer counsellors to help maintain its vital work. The helpline’s aim is to answer every contact made by a child or young person and to offer comfort, advice and protection.

For the first time in ChildLine’s history, they can now answer almost every call the first time a child rings. But to continue this they need the continued support of the public.

The base is keen to make contact with anyone who may be willing to help, however the service is particularly keen to hear from Welsh speakers and potential male volunteers. Young male callers often prefer to speak to a male counsellor about their issues and similarly children and young people can ask for their contact to be dealt with in Welsh. It’s important to be able to respond to children and young people in the way they feel most comfortable so the base is keen to increase the number of male and Welsh speaking volunteers.

ChildLine counsellors come from all walks of life and you don’t need to have formal training or qualifications in counselling to apply. Full training is provided to all successful applicants. All you need is a commitment to children and young people, an open mind and an ability to listen and support young people who need to talk.

Potential volunteers will initially need to commit to 50 hours for training and assessment. They will then be required to do a weekly shift for a minimum of 12 months. To complete an application form visit www.nspcc.org.uk and search for ChildLine volunteering opportunities in Prestatyn.

Or for more information, why not attend an information meeting at the base on Warren Drive, Prestatyn on Thursday 1 March at 6:30pm or Wednesday 21 March at 10am. Call the base on 0207 539 6090 for more information.