Story: Teenagers and youth

Youthline poster

Youthline poster

Youthline, which was founded in 1970, offers a free, non-judgemental telephone service for young people wanting to talk, along with other counselling and education services. Many of its volunteer staff are young people. The phone number, free text number, email address, Facebook site and websites all provide ports of call for young people who need to talk.

Between 2014 and 2015 the number of calls to Youthline by teenagers experiencing extreme depression rose from 6,909 to 14,996. The number of suicidal callers rose from 7,241 in 2014 to 8,291 in 2015. 

Youthline can be contacted on 0800 376 633 or by free text to 234. Young people can also access an online chat group.

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Youthline

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How to cite this page:

Carl Walrond, 'Teenagers and youth - Defining teenagers as a group', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/ephemera/27012/youthline-poster (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Carl Walrond, published 5 May 2011, updated 1 Aug 2017