TeenLine recruiting volunteers to man free phone service
By Aura McMenamin
LISTENING charity TeenLine Ireland is recruiting new volunteers to man its free phone and text service, with members of the community encouraged to attend a volunteer recruitment day on October 14.
Volunteer numbers at the Tallaght-based charity have dropped significantly in recent months, with numbers down from around 60 to 14.
Geraldine Perry, a voluntary member of the charity’s office admin team, said: “The charity has had a change of management and we want to invite people in to see the new management structure and to learn about the charity.
“We’ll show people around the office, they can meet with other volunteers and learn about the training involved.”
The charity is also recruiting school speakers, who visit schools providing information on TeenLine to young people and the support services available.
Based in the Dominic’s Shopping Centre in Tallaght, TeenLine is a free-phone, free-text, confidential listening service for young people who need to talk – with a team of volunteers manning the service from 8pm to 11pm, 365 days a year.
The service was established by Tallaght mother Maureen Bolger following the loss of her son Darren to suicide in 2003, with Maureen seeing a need for a confidential service to help teenagers and young adults who may feel isolated, troubled or lonely.
The service, which received around 24,000 calls and 26,000 texts in 2016, is dependent on volunteers.
Anybody interested in learning about TeenLine is invited to attend the open day on Saturday, October 14, between 12pm and 4pm in the charity’s premises.
For further information call the TeenLine office on 4622122 or visit www.teenline.ie.
Any young person who would like to speak with someone is encouraged to call the TeenLine Freephone number 1800 833 634 between 8pm and 11pm, Monday to Sunday, or text Teen to 50015.
TAGS news
