Problems

Children & young people support

Listed below are some helplines and websites where children and young people can get information, advice and support. There are also specialist helplines which deal with specific issues e.g. eating disorders, abuse, sexuality, drugs, self harm, bullying, bereavement, etc. and for these click on the menu button for that particular problem.

AMH New Life Counselling (N.Ireland)
028 9182 8494
https://www.amh.org.uk/new-life-counselling/
AMH New Life Counselling is a professionally accredited counselling service and part of Action for Mental Heath. It is committed to supporting the emotional health and well being needs of its clients through counselling and therapeutic services to children, young people, adults and families.

BECOME
0800 023 2033
www.becomecharity.org.uk
Help, support and advice to children in care and young care leavers so that they can unleash their potential and take control of their lives.

Brook Young People's Information Service:
www.brook.org.uk
Information, support and signposting service for young people under 25 on sexual health. Also run a confidential enquiry service via the Brook website . Details of local services available via text message (see website for details). Centres throughout the UK offering free contraception, pregnancy testing and counselling.

Childline:
0800 1111
www.childline.org.uk
Emotional support for children and young people on issues relating to child abuse, bullying etc.

Common Youth: (Area served N.Ireland)
028 90 32 8866 (Belfast)
www.commonyouth.com
Free confidential sexual health advice for under 25s.

Coram Voice:
0808 800 5792
www.coramvoice.org.uk
Telephone advice, information and advocacy services for children in care. Visiting advocacy service for children in secure units and other residential homes.

Eighteen and Under
www.18u.org.uk
Support, information and helpline for young people under 18 who have experienced any type of abuse.
(Area served: Scotland)

For Her
https://www.forher.org.uk/
For Her is an online platform created to help young women between the ages of 16 to 29 get acess to free emotional support services in the London area. It draws together services from free counselling options and mental health helplines, to specialist services provided by domestic and sexual violence charities.  

Forced Marriages
020 7008 0151
https://www.gov.uk/stop-forced-marriage
Enter Forced Marriages into search bar at top of site - Service provided by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office to protect young people from forced marriages abroad. Service offers help to young people in these circumstances to help get them back to the UK.

Look Ahead
0333 010 4600
https://www.lookahead.org.uk/
Look Ahead works with vulnerable people throughout the UK, those with learning difficulties, mental health, young people and the homeless .

Meic Helpline
080880 23456 (area served Wales) Open every day 8am to midnight
Text 84001
Online chat through website
https://www.meiccymru.org/
Information, advice, advoccy service for children and young people in Wales aged 0-25 years.

Muslim Youth Helpline:
0808 808 2008 (Area served London)
www.myh.org.uk
Helpline providing culturally sensitive support to Muslim youth under the age of 25. Outreach services including family mediation, face to face counselling and befriending.

National Youth Advocacy Service:
0808 808 1001
help@nyas.net
www.nyas.net
Provides information, advice, advocacy and legal representation to young people up to 25 through a network of advocates through England and Wales.

NCS YES
https://wearencs.com/
National Citizen Service is a way for 15 to 17 year olds living in England and Northern Ireland to make new friendships, learn new skills and create unforgettable memories. NCS takes place outside of term time in the Spring, Summer and Autumn and involves outdoor activities, staying away from home, learning life skills, personal skills, leadership, communication.  Fee of £50 or less depending on circumstances and provider.

Runaway Helpline:
116 000
www.runawayhelpline.org.uk
Runaway Helpline is here if you are thinking about running away, if you have already run away, or if you have been away and come back.You can also contact the Helpline if you are worried that someone else is going to run away or if they are being treated badly or abused.You can call or text for free, 24 hours a day. It's all confidential.

Samaritans:
Helpline: 116 123
Email jo@samaritans.org
www.samaritans.org
24hr service offering emotional support.

The Care Leavers Association: 
0161 826 0214
www.careleavers.com
The Care Leavers Association is a national user led charity aimed at improving the lives of care leavers of all ages. They bring together the voices and experiences of care leavers to support care leavers of all ages, improve the current care system and change for the better society's perception of people in care. The Care Leavers Association work with individuals through specific projects, campaign, lobby and advocate for change at all levels of government and provide training and awareness for a range of organisations.

The Channel
https://thechannel.org.uk/
A dedicated space for young people with epilepsy. Find life hacks, share experiences, get answers.

The Child Law Advice Service
Provides legal advice and information on areas of child, family and education law. To access this advice and information please visit www.childlawadvice.org.uk and follow the link to the Child Law Advice Service where you will be able to view a range of factsheets and how to guides. Should you have clarifying questions following your visit to their website, their helpline number is available at the end of each factsheet. The helpline is available Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm.

The Mix
0808 808 4994
www.themix.org.uk
Essential support for under 25s. Phone, Email, Web support and Counselling. 
www.themix.org.uk/get-support/speak-to-our-team/crisis-messenger - The Mix's Crisis Messenger text service is available 24/7 and open to anyone aged 25 or under living in the UK.
If you're in crisis and need to talk, text THEMIX to 85258 

The OLLIE Foundation
https://theolliefoundation.org/
A charity dedicated to delivering suicide awareness. Providing confidential help and advice to young people and anyone worried about a young person. Helping others to prevent young suicide by delivering a number of training programmes. Delivering online weekly mental health support sessions open and free to all young people.

Proud Connections Live Chat (run by the Proud Trust)
https://www.theproudtrust.org/proud-connections/proud-connections-live-chat/
Proud Connections is a safe and supportive place for LGBT+ young people  and the adults in their lives to chat to youth workers.
Opening hours are 11am to 6pm Monday to Friday.

Voice Collective
020 7911 0822
http://www.voicecollective.co.uk/
Voice Collective is a UK wide, London based project that supports children and young people up to 25 years old, who hear voices, see visions, have 'unusual' sensory experiences or beliefs. They also support for families and parents.  

Young Epilepsy
01342 832243
https://www.youngepilepsy.org.uk/
The Childrens and Young People's Epilepsy Charity

Websites

www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/advice
Advice and information on wide range of issues including bullying, sex and relationships, drink and drugs, body and mind

www.catch-22.org.uk
work in 150 towns and cities supporting young people with tough lives and facing difficult situations, programmes help to develop a young person’s confidence and skills. Work covers substance misuse, family support, health and well being, education and training including apprenticeships, offender rehabilitation, community activities leaving care and advisory service, housing services.

https://calmharm.co.uk/
Calm Harm free app provides tasks to help you manage the urge to Self Harm 

https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/it/app-directory/catch-it/
Catch It free app - Making Sense of your Moods 

www.childnet.com - Site aimed at children and young people with advice on staying safe online, online games, chatrooms, email and mobile phones

https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20220225162456/https://www.disrespectnobody.co.uk/
Understanding what healthy relationships are and what is not acceptable in a relationship

www.docready.org
Helps young people get ready for the first time visiting a doctor to discuss mental health. Digital tools aimed at ensuring young people get the most out of their appointment with the doctor.

https://www.fumble.org.uk/
Fumble is a sex education charity.  We make sure that young people have the skills and knowledge to successfully manage their sexual health, mental health and relationships today, and we do this through our brilliant, co-created digital content.

We make content on sex, relationships, bodies and related topics. Our content is for young people, by young people.

https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/medications/
website for young people with information about mental health medication, site owned and managed by national charity Young Minds.

www.hopesupport.org.uk 
If you are aged 11+ and a close family member has been diagnosed with a life threatening illness, you can access safe online support in a way that suits you.

https://www.themix.org.uk/drink-and-drugs
for information relating to drink and drugs

https://www.themix.org.uk/sex-and-relationships/gender-and-sexuality
Information for young people on gender and sexuality

https://lynnenamka.com/anger-management/
Good information on how to manage anger, section for young people and children

www.meandmymind.nhs.uk
Oasis, the NHS Community Mental Health Team in London have developed this site which is aimed at young people 14-35 years who are struggling with unusual experiences like hearing voices or feeling paranoid. Although some of the contact information is relevant to the London Boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark, Croydon, or Lewisham, the general information provided would be helpful for anyone struggling with these issues.   

www.nightline.ac.uk - Trained student volunteers provide emotional support to students. Operating in the night when many other university services are closed.

https://uk.depaulcharity.org/nightstop/
Nightstop is a charity service which provides emergency accommodation for young people aged 16-25 experiencing homelessness, in the homes of community volunteers.

https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/online-mobile-safety/report-remove/
Report Remove: Helps young people under 18 in the UK to confidentially report sexual images or videos of themselves  and remove them from the internet.

https://www.theproudtrust.org/young-people/exploring-identity/sexual-orientation-lgb/
information for young people exploring their sexual identity/orientation

www.shelter.org.uk
Shelter also provides information and advice to young people

www.stem4.org.uk
A mental health charity for teenagers with lots of advice and support on issues such as self harm, addictions, eating disorders, depression  

www.studentsagainstdepression.org
Site contains excellent information and help for anyone feeling depressed

www.studentminds.org.uk
The UK's student mental health charity. Peer support, Positive Minds Course, Eating difficulty groups.

https://studentspace.org.uk/
Information and support for students

www.thebrightsidetrust.org
Sometimes the only thing standing in the way of a young person achieving their education or career ambitions is a lack of information or support.

Online mentoring – getting advice and support from someone who is where you want to be, whether that's at university or in a certain career, is invaluable. We make this happen through online mentoring – structured and supported online contact with a mentor who can help young people work out where they want to go in life and how they can get there.

Online resources – there's an overwhelming amount of information on careers, finance and education. Knowing where to go and what to trust is hard. We make it easy. Our online information resources cover everything you might need to know.

www.thestudentroom.co.uk
The largest student community in the world. Discuss anything - universities, health, relationships, lifestyle, finance, careers, jobs, and more.

www.youthaccess.org.uk
Online information on local youth information, advice, counseling and support services

www.healthtalk.org 
Click on Young People tab at top.
Collection of interviews with young people about their experience of health or illness. You can watch videos, listen to audio or read interviews

For specific issues please see the A to Z index.

https://www.wikihow.com/Overcome-Social-Anxiety-in-High-School
Overcoming social anxiety in High School 

https://www.willgarveytrustfoundation.org.uk/
The Will Garvey Trust Foundation (WTF) was set up by the parents of Will Garvey, a young man who at the age of 20 died by suicide. The Trust Foundation raises awareness of suicide and mental health with their central mantra based on the slogan W.T.F. - Why Talking Fixes. The Foundation focuses primarily on young people 13-25 years and their support communities but they hope and intend that their resources and activities will be of relevance to anyone looking for support.