Help ChildLine be there for children who may have nowhere else to turn this Christmas

Photo: Alex Hansen

Help ChildLine be there for children in Greater Manchester who may have nowehere else to turn this Christmas (The children pictured are models)

For most children, Christmas is a magical time of year – surrounded by friends and family, the excitement and anticipation of unwrapping presents. But for some, it’s a time when they feel more alone than ever, when they’re struggling to cope with being ignored, bullied and abused.

New figures released today (20 November) show that in December 2013, trained volunteer counsellors at the NSPCC’s ChildLine base in Manchester carried out 1456 counselling sessions with children and young people across the UK – many of whom had nowhere else to turn. The most common reason for contacting ChildLine was family relationships, from worries about parents separating to arguments with family members and wanting to leave home, with 396 children contacting the free and confidential helpline. This represented 27 per cent of counselling sessions carried out at the Manchester ChildLine base last December.

In the same period, 318 children and young people also contacted the Manchester ChildLine base about worries such as feeling sad, down or like no one understands them and 262 counselling sessions were about bullying, both on and offline.

The new figures coincide with the launch of the NSPCC’s Call for Help appeal to ensure its ChildLine service is able to offer support and hope to the thousands of children and young people expected to make contact this December.

ChildLine area manager, Christine Mellor, said: “Hundreds of ChildLine volunteers will be spending the Christmas period not with their families, but seeing the other side of the festive season. We’ll be talking to children and young people for whom Christmas can be a truly miserable time, listening to them, providing advice and support and being there for them when they can’t talk to anyone else about what they’re going through.

“It’s no exaggeration to say that ChildLine really could be the difference between life and death for some children this Christmas. Please help us be there when they need us most – a donation of just £4 could mean that a child will hear a voice at the end of the phone that lets them know they’re not alone.”

ChildLine provides a lifeline for thousands of children at Christmas. The free, confidential, 24-hour helpline and online service provided by the NSPCC will be open throughout the festive season for children and young people who need to talk, even on Christmas Day.

But the service needs funding and support to ensure that trained ChildLine counsellors can continue to listen and offer help, advice and support to children and young people, whatever their worry.

There are many ways you can support the NSPCC’s Call for Help appeal – Text HOPE to 70744 to donate £4 and help answer a call to ChildLine this Christmas: attend a local fundraising event; make a donation online or take part in the NSPCC’s Bobble Hat Day on 10 December.