1. “The World Might be on Fire but the Children Didn’t Light it.”
The world might be on fire...but the children didn’t light it…” says Nenita Rose, Executive Director of
Child Helpline International, a global network of organizations operating nearly 200 child helplines in
over 170 countries. When Associate Director at 180 Turning Lives Around, heard these remarks, which
opened the 7th Annual International Consultation of Helplines, she looked around at all of the other
countries represented in the room and it was clear the comment resonated the same way, all were here
with the same mission in mind. Speaking up for youth and making sure they always have somewhere to
turn.
In New Jersey, 180 Turning Lives Around operates, 2NDFLOOR® Youth Helpline. The statewide
Youth Helpline is available 24 hours a day, every day and reaches all 21 New Jersey
counties. 2NDFLOOR® is a full member of Child Helpline International (CHI) which connects the
organization globally to other helplines serving young people. This year’s Child Helpline International
Consultation titled, The Right to be Heard: Empowering Children and Young People through
Technology provided an opportunity for helpline members and important stakeholders to share their
knowledge and experience while participating in essential trainings and workshops on key helpline and
child protection issues. The use of technology and how it equips and enables young people to reach out
and protect themselves when they need care and support was the main theme along with how helplines
have been using new technological advances to make effective contact with youth in need.
What was discovered was whether these youth live in one of New Jersey’s small towns, a big city in
Europe or a remote village in South Africa, many of the underlying issues young people across the
world deal with are strikingly similar and the way the young people want to communicate is as well.
The Child Helpline International (CHI) Voices of Children and Young People report revealed abuse and
violence as the main reason children got in touch with helplines. They also reported alarming rates of
exposure to physical abuse, neglect, emotional abuse, sexual violence, and domestic violence. The
second major reason youth contacted helplines were psycho-social problems including fear and anxiety,
self-harm and suicidal thoughts. These are prominent issues handled on the New Jersey based helpline.
Regrettably, the report data shows that globally 277 million contacts to youth helplines were made in the
past ten years and only 127 million were answered (over 600,000 by 2NDFLOOR) because of instances
when young people around the world were unable to get through - often due to the unavailability of
counselors or because financial resources don’t allow for helplines to be open 24 hours. In some
countries child helplines don't exist at all.
To make a change to this the Child Helpline International members launched the “Free our Voices”
campaign. This campaign is an online petition where supporters can digitally sign their voices to raise
awareness to help bring resources to helplines globally.
Youth helplines can't solve every problem, the world does seem to be on fire in so many areas of the
world. But these helplines can make a big difference in making sure that young people get the support
they need, no matter where on the globe they are and this they deserve. For more information on
2NDFLOOR® Youth Helpline visit www.2NDFLOOR.org