Help for teenagers

Hi! If you're reading this because your parents are not getting on and you want to talk to someone about how you feel about this you may like to contact:Childline

You can talk to ChildLine about anything - no problem is too big or too small. If you are feeling scared or out of control or just want to talk to someone you can call ChildLine. And it's mostly PRIVATE - they will only talk to you about telling someone else if they think you are in serious danger. Ring them FREE on: 0800 1111. Or you can look at their website at www.childline.org.uk

If you can't get through to ChildLine, if the lines are busy, keep trying but if you have problems and need to speak to someone, you can call the NSPCC helpline on: 0808 800 5000. This never closes. There is always someone there to talk to even in the middle of the night. This is free, except from mobiles, and mostly private too.

Another thing the NSPCC have is a website on www.there4me.org which offers help, advice and support through the internet. Most of it is open all the time and the website tells you which bits are not and when they are open.

The Samaritans are always there for you, every day and every night - you can always phone them. No problem is too small and everything you say is confidential. There is no need to feel alone. When everyone is getting you down, you can talk to them and they will understand and talk it through with you. To speak to the Samaritans ring 08457 909090. If you want to find out more about them first you can visit their website at www.samaritans.org. Or, if you prefer you can email them by sending details about your feelings to jo@samaritans.org and they'll email you back within 24 hours. This service is confidential too.

Changing families

Sometimes families have problems. Your parents or carers might be splitting up, or they may find it hard to look after you properly, or to keep you safe. Families can often sort out these problems. But sometimes they can't. If they can't, they use solicitors and the Courts to help them make decisions. If you want to find out about how this all works and what it will mean for you, there's a website for young people on: www.cafcass.gov.uk/cafcass_and_you/info_for_teenagers.aspx.

If you are worried that your parents are splitting up there's a really good website to help you understand and feel a bit better. It gives practical info for children and young people going through family change. You can find it at www.itsnotyourfault.org/How_to_cope.html. There's a bit on their about help for parents too - you might want to show it to your Mum and Dad!

The 'My Family's Changing' leaflets are designed to offer help and support to young people whose parents are divorcing or separating. They include ideas from other young people who have been through similar experiences as well as games, space for young people to write down and explore their feelings and details of organisations that can offer further help. To download a copy go to www.tso.co.uk/bookshop/gempdf/Cafcass_MFC_Older.pdf

To find out what young people who have experienced family change have to say about it and their advice to those in similar situations you can visit www.cf.ac.uk/claws/kids. They talk about some good things too and have a section for parents.

Other places that can help with all sorts of young people's worries

Connexions Direct (studying, work, life, health, travel, etc)
If you are aged from 13 to 19, you can speak to someone at Connexions Direct on any day of the week, including weekends. Call 080 800 13-2-19. They are open from 8am to 2am. You can ask them to call you back or you can text them on 077664 13-2-19. This service is totally confidential unless you or another young person is in danger or at risk of serious harm. Their website is at www.connexions-direct.com.

Get Connected (helplines for virtually anything!)
This is a free phone helpline for young people under 25 and it's open from 1pm to 11pm every day, including weekends. It's not for counselling but keeps lists of people who can help you with a particular problem. They will give you the numbers of telephone helplines or they can text you the information. This is a confidential service and you can make contact by ringing 0808 808 4994.

Youth Access
This is a national organisation for young people's information, advice, counselling and support services. They will be able to put you in touch with someone who can help you in your local area. The service is mainly for people ages 12 to 25. The telephone number is 020 8772 9900. It is not a free phone line - calls are charged at the national rate. If you'd rather go to their website, the address is www.youthaccess.org.uk or you can email them on admin@youthaccess.org.uk

Youth2Youth (Y2Y).
This is a unique telephone helpline service as it is run by young people for young people aged 11 to 19. The staff are aged 16 to 21 and are specially trained. It is totally confidential. Their number is 020 8896 3675 and they are open on Mondays and Thursdays from 6.30pm to 9.30pm. If you are calling out of these hours, you can leave a short message on their answer machine and they will get back to you. Calls are charged at the national rate but they also offer a callback service; they will call your mobile for up to 20 minutes of talktime or unlimited time to your landline.

You can also chat online on www.youth2youth.co.uk (there is a waiting room and then you have 20 minutes to chat). Online chat has the same opening hours as above. There is an email service too on help@youth2youth.co.uk but it may take longer for someone to get back to you.