On Sunday, May 2 2010, the 9th annual Walk for Kids Help Phone will be raising vital funds for the charity and the hundreds of kids who call in or post every day
Have you ever heard of Kids Help Phone? I have and I know all the good work that they do but here’s a look at how they help in the area of mental health.
The Walk for Kids Help Phone is the counselling service’s most important fundraising event of the year. The 2010 goal is to raise $3M, a vital 25% of its operating budget, in order to remain there for the young people of Canada who are dealing with increasingly complex issues. The funds raised go directly to support the work of Kids Help Phone skilled, professional counsellors; respond immediately to kids’ needs, explore options and equip them with the skills to meet life’s challenges.
Like mental health.
In 2009, more young people contacted Kids Help Phone about mental health issues than about issues related to peers, family, or sexuality. In fact, from 2008 to 2009, Kids Help Phone recorded a 4% jump in the incidence of contacts from children and youth that were seeking information or support around issues related to mental and emotional health.
The 2010 Kids Help Phone study, Mental Health Literacy: Kids in Canada Talk About Mental Health shows that only half of the respondents would seek out help if they were dealing with intense feelings, or were worried about their mental health. Given how common mental health issues are in young people – research indicates that approximately one out of every five people struggle with mental health problems before the age of 18 – this finding is concerning. The importance of an anonymous and confidential service like Kids Help Phone is once more demonstrated by the young people of the survey who clearly identified the conditions needed to make reaching out a possibility.
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