Youthline has announced it will make its helpline available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Previously, the not-for-profit organisation’s helpline – which supported 15,000 Aotearoa youth last year – was limited to those in crisis overnight.
Youthline CEO Shae Ronald told the Pre-Panel that the new service was “absolutely incredible – this is huge for us”.
Young people could now contact the helpline for any problem – “big or small”.
The organisation had to raise $1.4 million a year to keep the helpline running, and ASB will now fund the overnight service.
In a statement, ASB executive general manager Lohit Kalburgi said the full overnight service had been a shared goal from the start of the bank’s partnership with Youthline.
“We are thrilled to see it come to fruition. Not only have we funded the service, but passionate ASB members have helped to get it up and running by volunteering as project managers.”
Ronald said that even before the fully funded service was officially launched, the overnight service had supported more than 400 young people in the past two months.
Of these, 20 per cent were “at risk of suicide, 10 per cent at risk of self-harm and 5 per cent at risk of abuse”.
The service has already had a significant impact, Ronald said.
Youthline’s State of the Generation report, conducted by Kantar Public, found that 75 per cent of those surveyed said mental health was the biggest issue facing their generation.
Since 2012, rates of mental distress among young people have doubled globally and in Aotearoa, Ronald said.
“We’ve seen the impact of social media, concerns about the climate, weather uncertainty, economic pressures, Covid-19 – all of that is taking a toll on the young people we support.
“We’re seeing a lot harder things for young people these days than many previous generations have had to deal with, and that’s definitely having an impact on mental health and well-being.”
Research has shown that night time is typically harder for rangatahi, she said.
“Often there’s rumination, repetitive negative thinking … it often happens at night and it’s often worse for those who are already feeling anxious or low. We know that young people can struggle to disconnect from social media, and that has an impact.
“Many young people will contact us for one issue and if they have had a good experience, they will contact us again for other issues.
Youthline also provides support for adults who support young people, with “parents, aunts, teachers and social workers also calling us,” she said.
