Youthline report release
Following the Launch of the Helpline in May this year, Youthline have released their first quarterly report for the period July-September 2012 with details of the means of communication to the Helpline, either via text or phone calls and the kinds of queries that are being discussed.
‘This first report is huge for us, we have an answer to the BIG questions, “is this Helpline working for us?” Or “Do we need a helpline?”, we believe that from the initial figures received (approx 13 calls & 30 texts per month), we can say that our people are seeing this helpline as one option to seeking support for whatever it is that we are going through. From the point of view of the committee, we think it’s great! We are glad to see that people are utilising this option – Telecom Cook Islands and Youthline NZ have invested a lot of resources into making this possible for us – it’s definitely a worthwhile service. The issues are no surprise, this is consistent with what our research shows and various stakeholders have started taking steps to introducing/strengthening interventions that will provide further support ’, says chairperson of the committee, Vania Kenning.
The report says that the average length of each conversation is approximately 13 texts per conversation.
Disaggregated data from the report indicates 61% of callers are female and 31% are male with the remaining percentage not identified. The age distribution of callers is: 14-17yrs (38%), 18-25yrs (15%), 26-35yrs (8%), 36-45yrs (8%) and 31% unknown, which indicates that the message is reaching communities and all ages are utilising this service.
Youthline will release reports on a quarterly basis with the next expected around December.

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