Message from Childline

“Like lots of organisations in the UK, Childline is being affected by the government’s advice about keeping people safe. Many of our volunteers and staff aren’t able to come in for their shifts as usual.

To make sure we can keep supporting you, we’ve had to make some very difficult decisions about how Childline works.

From tonight, you won’t be able to speak to a counsellor online or on the phone between midnight and 9am. To make sure we can answer everyone who’s waiting, you also won’t be able to join the queue for a 1-2-1 chat after 10:30pm.

If you need support, you’ll still be able to call us for free on 0800 1111 between 10:30pm and midnight. You can also send a message from your locker any time, but we won’t be able to read this straight away.

We’ve added an automated switchboard to help make it easier to get through when you call. You also won’t be able to use 1-2-1 chat on the Childline app for now, but you can still have one via the website.

We’re doing everything we can to support all the young people who use Childline. We might need to make more changes in the future, but we’ll keep you updated with everything that’s happening.

Our website will still be available 24 hours a day. You can keep getting support from other young people on the message boards and you can still use things like your mood journal.

The news can be scary, and it can be hard to know what’s true and whether you should be scared. Whatever you’re going through, Childline wants to help.

Updated: 20 March 2020.“

https://www.childline.org.uk/get-support/contacting-childline/message-from-childline/