Record number of teens seeking help

A record number of almost 20,000 calls were made to Teen-Line, Ireland’s only dedicated teenage helpline last year.
That is a 49per cent increase on the number of calls received in 2013. Teen-Line also established a mobile phone texting service in November 2014 and almost 1,000 texts were received in the six weeks the service was open last year.
“Our helpline received 19,036 calls last year, this is the highest number of calls in a single year we have received since we opened the service in 2006,” said Bronagh Logan, Manager of Teen-Line Ireland.
“Last year also saw the highest number of new callers contacting the helpline, this is a positive development as it shows that awareness of the service is increasing calls and teenagers are picking up the phone to talk to us,” she said. “We are delighted to have the mobile phone texting service up and running. “This was our big aim for 2014 and we’re thrilled to offer this option to teenagers who may find talking difficult. Teenagers can access the text service by texting TEEN to 50015,” said Ms. Logan.
 The most prevalent motivation for teenager to contact the helpline was simply to talk to someone; second most common reason to call was loneliness and followed by relationship issues in third place.
The helpline and text service is open seven days a week from 8pm to 11pm with an extended service from 4pm to 11pm every Wednesday. The helpline number is 1800 833 634 and the text service can be contacted by text “teen” to 50015.
Teen-Line provides a national, non-directive, free telephone helpline and a mobile phone texting service for teenagers who may be feeling alone, worried or distressed. 
Teen-Line Ireland was founded by Maureen Bolger in 2006 following the death of her son, Darren who took his own life in 2003. Maureen wanted to provide a safe place for teenagers to talk.