Youthline breaking down barriers

A localisation of the set up of Youthline in Southland is helping the organisation get a stronger grasp of the issues facing the region’s teens.

At the end of last year, the organisation set up a local board and employed a fulltime

Invercargill-based manager.

When Shannon O’Connor was appointed, she worked towards increasing the volunteer numbers, getting out to schools and improving the visibility of what Youthline offered.

In 2016/17, 52 people in the Southern District Health Board

Free Helpline 0800 37 66 33 committed suicide, the most since 2009/10.

Nationally, 51 people aged between 10 and 19 took their own lives in the same time period.

O’Connor said one of the biggest skills a counsellor can have is to keep someone on the phone who is feeling down.

‘‘We have a comprehensive training programme that runs for a number of weeks, and helps give our volunteers a range of skills.’’

Youthline phone counsellor Graham Madoc said they get a lot of calls, with some focusing on teenage angst, and many dealing with high-end issues.

‘‘We get calls about relationships ending, right through to suicidal thoughts. A lot of the kids just want someone to listen to them.’’