Helpline - 0800 335 SAFE
In 2004 SAFE@LAST launched its free, confidential 24 hr Helpline which offers help, advice and practical support where necessary to children and young people who are at risk through running away. This includes children who have run away or been forced to leave home or who are thinking that this may be their only real alternative.
Since 2004 this service has expanded to include a text service and most recently web chat. These additional aspects to the helpline were introduced as a response to what young people were telling us about the ways in which they prefer to communicate with us.
Our records to the end of the last financial year tell us that:-
- More girls choose to call the helpline than boys
- 13 and 15 year olds are the most frequent callers
- Our youngest caller this year was 10 years old
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Most calls come from children and young people in Rotherham, suggesting that awareness of the service is greater in our ‘home’ Borough which is where the prevention work also takes place
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Parents and other professionals seeking help and advice on behalf of a young person make up a significant minority of calls
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Family conflict and parental problems are the most common issues identified by young people who call the helpline but violence, bullying, loneliness and rejection are also significant factors
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