Are fewer kids calling as a result of Kids Help Phone’s web counselling service?
The phone and the Internet are very different media and kids have very different attitudes and habits toward each. In 2008, calls to Kids Help Phone were up 5% over 2007 and kids continued to post questions to the “Ask a Counsellor” online service at near historical levels. The counsellors tell us that young people have their preferred medium of communication and that increasingly they are looking for online help. As kids’ needs continue to change and grow, we will continue to evolve and explore new methods of delivering our 24-hour, confidential and anonymous counselling service, but the one advantage that our 1-800 number phone service has is that it provides immediate, one-to-one counselling when a child wants to reach out and talk to someone.
