The first step is to ask for help from an adult you trust and feel comfortable with.

Try talking to your mum, dad or caregiver.  If they’re not around or you feel too stink to talk to them find another adult you trust, like an aunty or an uncle.

If you go to church you might want to talk to your pastor or vicar.   And if you’re at school try the school counsellor.

Try What’s Up.  It’s a phone line for kids who need help with their problems. Kids from 5, up to 18 years old, use What’s Up. If you’ve got a serious problem you can give them a call. You can talk through your problems with one of their counsellors and they offer great advice on all sorts of things.

Or try Youth Line.  They’re an organisation you can call 24/7 if you’re having problems at home or at school.  They’ve got counsellors you can call or email from anywhere in New Zealand. You can even Txt Youthline if you need to get in touch with them.

Best of all, with both Youthline and What’s Up, when you call them it’s free and they don’t tell anyone so nobody else will know you’ve called them.

Both What’s Up and Youthline have websites you can checkout: www.whatsup.co.nz www.youthline.co.nz or you can find their numbers in the telephone book,  just remember that they are there for you to talk through your problems you might have – they can’t fix them for you but they will help you find the right solution

Remember, if you need help, ask and keep on asking until you get help.

Facts about help

One of the best examples of getting help from others is the recent rescue of two miners, Brant Webb and Todd Russell, from a town in Tasmania, from the Beaconsfield Gold mine in Australia.
Mr Webb and Mr Russell walked out of the mine after spending 14 days trapped in a small cage 925 metres below the surface. Their rescue took the effort of hundreds of people, many of whom volunteered because they wanted to help!

A man called Jesse B. Davis is considered the first counsellor. In 1907, he became the principal of a high school and encouraged the school’s English teachers to use school lessons to show career choices and at the same time ‘develop character, and avoid behavioural problems’ with the children.  In other words he suggested that the teachers let kids discover what they wanted to do when they left school, to give them some ideas on things like respect and to stop them being naughty :0)

Youthline are an organisation created for and with young people. They have over 800 volunteers throughout New Zealand who are trained to support young people. Youth Help Line - 0800 37 66 33 or you can send Youthline an e-mail on talk@youthline.co.nz or free text to 234.

What’s Up is a free, national telephone counselling service for New Zealanders aged 5 to 18 years that has been available since 22nd September 2001. What’s up works seven days a week from noon to midnight.

Over 40% of the problems children and young people call What’s Up about are problems with other people, like concerns about bullying, relationships with family members, about relationships with girlfriends/boyfriends The average age of callers to What’s up is 12 years old.

What's Up received its 1 millionth call in July 2005. The What’s Up help line number is
0800 WHATSUP (0800 942 8787)