Come on the Camino, and help reach out to teenagers

Come on the Camino, and help reach out to teenagers

By Mary Dennehy

TEENLINE Ireland is inviting people to take part in its fundraising Camino walk this August, and to support the listening service which has already received more than 11,000 text messages and over 9,500 calls in the first five months of this year.

Based in the Dominic’s Shopping Centre, Tallaght, TeenLine is a free-phone, free-text, confidential listening service for young people feeling alone, confused or distressed – with a team of around 50 volunteers currently manning the service from 8pm to 11pm, 365 days a year.

Teenline 07 June 2016

In November 2014, TeenLine introduced a text service to encourage more males to reach out – and to respond to the use of text by many teenagers for communication.

In 2015, the text service received 12,000 messages. However, in the first five months of this year, more than 11,000 texts have already been received – with TeenLine expecting the number of text messages for 2016 to be 100 per cent higher than 2015.

Calls to TeenLine since January 2016 are slightly down on last year’s figures and are currently logged at over 9,500.

Chairperson of TeenLine Ireland, Declan Brennan told The Echo: “Things are going very well for TeenLine and more and more volunteers are coming on board to support the service and the young people who reach out.

“Young people know that they have a safe place in TeenLine and can talk to a volunteer without judgement or being told what to do – they are encouraged to make their own decision, with our support.”

Currently TeenLine has a team of around 50 people volunteering on the phone, with around eight new volunteer applications received and an average of five people undergoing training every month.

However, recruiting and training costs money.

Declan said: “We always need volunteers and while we’re getting new applications all the time, there is always people coming to the end of their volunteering.

“Recruiting and training does cost money and ideally we would like to have a team of around 80 people.

“We’ve also been promoting the service more over the past year and gave out more than 18,000 TeenLine wristbands nationwide and visited more than 80 schools to talk about TeenLine, which was supported by Toyota Ireland and the Tallaght branch of Pranic Healing Ireland.”

The listening service is now inviting the community to come on board and support TeenLine in raising funds either through community events or by taking part in its Camino Fundraiser this August.

tlicaminofundraiser2016 resized

The TeenLine team will be walking the last 100km of the Camino De Santiago, and this Thursday, June 9, a public information session will be held in the listening service’s office on the first floor of the Dominic’s shopping centre.

Anybody who can’t make the meeting, or who is unable to do the Camino but would like to organise a community or work-based fundraiser, is encouraged to contact the office on 4622124 or email events@teenline.ie.

Follow TeenLine on Facebook or, for any young person who would like to talk, call the national Freephone number on 1800 833 634 or text TEEN to 50015 between 8pm and 11pm, seven days a week.

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