Last week I had the privilege of meeting the founder of Childline, Dame Esther Rantzen, at an event in the Senedd to mark the helpline’s 30th anniversary.
Childline is a free 24-hour counselling service for children and young people up to their 19th birthday provided by the NSPCC. It was established in 1986 after a helpline set up following a BBC television programme on child abuse was inundated with calls.
Television presenter Esther Rantzen realised there was an urgent need for an outlet for vulnerable children - and in some cases adults - to talk about what was then a taboo subject, child abuse.
Starting with just 100 volunteers in a small office, the helpline was instantly busy and struggled to answer the 8,000 calls it received each day.
Thirty years later, the organisation has grown to 12 call centres across the country, including one here in North Wales in Prestatyn, as well as an online counselling service. It’s a successful model which has been copied in 150 countries.
Since it was established four million children have been counselled by a dedicated network of 1,400 trained volunteer counsellors.
Last year it received more than 7,600 contacts to its bases across the UK from children living in Wales seeking help, advice and support, and not all of those who use the helpline reveal where they live, so the true figure could be higher.
Low self-esteem, family relationships and self-harm were the some of the most common concerns raised with volunteers, with a combined total of more than 2,800 counselling sessions undertaken on these issues with children in Wales. Bullying and online bullying accounted for almost 500 calls and online contacts.
Wales currently has 175 volunteers who undertook 22,000 counselling sessions in the last 12 months and it is these volunteer counsellors are what make Childline the success it is, without them some children would have nowhere to turn.
As the helpline celebrates its 30th anniversary, it is as important as ever that Childline recruits and trains even more volunteers to meet the increasing demand for its service. As many as 4,500 children phone Childline every day, though only 2,500 of these callers can be answered due to lack of resources.
Childline is a fantastic service which saves so many lives and protects so many children from pain and I would urge anyone in North Wales with a few hours to spare each week to consider becoming a volunteer.
Becoming a Childline volunteer means being there when a child needs you the most, sometimes all they need is someone who has the time to listen, and if you’re not confident on the phone, with a new email counselling role, you can make a difference by answering emails from children and young people who need help and support.
To find out more about volunteering for Childline, visit www.nspcc.org.uk/childline30.